Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-06-22
Count de Gasparin.
BY REV. N. CYR.

All the friends of liberty nave heSfu U
the French nobIeman whose name We
bave inscribed above, and who has JUS
died in Geneva. He was truly the FRIEND
of America ; during the recent war ht
wrote three books that did much towards
stemming the Southern sympathy which
the agents of the rebellion had succeeded
in creating in the old world.
In the preface of bis uprising of q
Great People," he says:
81 have ben told ought to wait for
the results OF the American struggle be-
fore m hli-hing this book. On the con-
trarv, am glad to be able to give my
plandit to duty before it has been crown
ed with success After the success there
will be 10 lack of voices to chant its
praise. 1t is our duty to support our
friends when they have the most need OF
Us, when their battle, instead of being
gained, Is hardly begun"
He was not blind friend of the United
States. He knew that the struggle in
which the country was engaged was a
severe one, but he had faith in the final
triumph of liberty.
"Shall we deplore the crisis of the fever
which alone can work it's cure For my
part, do not deplore it, The resurrec
tion of people is one of those marvellous
phenomena which occur seldom in the
annals of humanity. The people of the
United States, today, are engaging with
energetic bravery in a new and fearful
strife for virtue and liberty.
Tboy hava bafOra %havn spJnaJ
struggle, suffering, for the crime of an
age cannot be atoned for at once. But
the hour of the most fearful sacrifice will
be for them the hour also of deliverance
The election OF Mr.. Lincoln was one of
the great epocbs of American history. 1t
closed the records of the past, it opens
that of the future"
His interest in our national struggle,
and his Just estimate of the real causes of
the conflict, brought his name prominent
ly before the American public, and en-
deared him to the friends of liberty. But
in France and French Switzerland bis
older and wider reputation had been that
of a defender of Christianity and the
Bible against the assaults of the Ration
alists. In this service he has written sew
eral works, among which should be espe-
cially mentioned Les EcOleS du D0ute ct
lEc0le de Ia Fol, large octave volume.
1t has done not little in stemming the
current of Neology, which for the last
twenty-five years has been pouring in
upon the Protestant churches of France.
Count de GAsparin was the most promi-
nent laymau in the French Protestant
churches. He was connected, until 1913,
with the Protestant establishment. At
convention held at that time, of ministers
and delegates from the churches of that
body, proposition to adopt a confession
of faith was voted down This decided
him and Frederic Monod to leave that
establishment and form a free church in
Paris.
He has been quite active ever since, and
has written considerably. We must men
tion particularly four series of discourses.
The first treats of the law, and grace
the secoF on truth, faith and life, the
third of Innocent III; the fourth on the
prospects of the present time.
The last series contains three discourses
of more than usual length, entitled, "Our
Perils," "Our Strength" and "Our Hopes"
We cannot enter into the particulars of
tie defense of the authority of the Scrip |
lures in these disoourses but we must
say that it is able and yet popular, and
well calculated TO vim dictate "the truth"
from the attacks Of its enemies.
The writer will never forget the first
time he heard Count de Gaspsrin speak.
II was in Geneva at the annual meeting
of the Evangelical Society. He was then
thirty-six years old. His noble bearing
and genial face impressed me very much.
and his simple recital of missionary Incl
dents was truly enchanting. Our profess
sor of Homiciletes referred to him soon
after az an exmplifcation of genuine
eloquence.
1t was my privilege, some three years
since, to have an interview with that dis |
tinquished man in his Genevese home,
and when I asked him if be had any mes
sage for America, he quickly replied,
"Tell the people they must pay their debt
in gold ~ 1t was about the time that
"repudiation" was sgitated, and found
out that persons unfriendly to the United
States had taken occasion to annoy the
Count with the accusation of dishonesty
applied to the American people and gov
eminent.
Count de Gasparin was not only a
nobleman he was noble christian, and
his memory ought to be cherished by
every true friend of the goepel and of
liberty.