National Republican., 1874-05-27
THE PERsEovFED ALPsasN
LECTURE BY;REy; TaGMAs aUAaD, ol

| LECTURE BYeREY THOMAS GUAHD, 0I
L 49, BALTIM0HE. -1 ~
ne .Mstropolitan Prssbytertsn church, on Cap
itoi Hill, vas veil nilsd last evening by IN sp
prscfstive audisuee, which assembled 10 lstsn 4
ths amous lecture Of the Rev. Thomas Guard o.
the psrssoutions or the waldsnsss The reverend
gentlcnsn disoasssd the charaeteristiss, religion
and pefsecutious Of the heroic Alpsmsn h the
following manner: The Alps, the hOns of tn.
heroic Maldenses, are csisbrated in prose and
and natural wsndsrs It was . nt dwelling piace
for q people whose noble traits Of chsracter.
sP, and ;1' Nature:
human rsce. They loved liberty better than
life, and were ever found ready TO sacrifice them
mountsin fastnesses and among the hills liberty
iourished. All thar suFroundngs seemed 10 b
an Inspiration Of this great principle. 80.
ioned By It's high and ennobllng promptings. God
touches the soul, mind and matter 90 that truth
Is enthroned. The Waldensss, under the guild,
sacred principles Of right. They recognised God.
They sought for the truth. They work for Jus.
tice. Their land was % conditioned that they
dlcts Of the soil Il was fertile and sxuberant.
Their hills were clothed with rich Eerdure sven 70
..s, os's Sa sss. ss s
q united people In the hcs Of .. terrible famine.
dsstraesisn. ~ They lived n moansain tain fsstnsssss
which . few men could easily protect. The
gorges, .rayinss, prscipices, jagged cllfs known
holds In themselves. And from these secret
places they would look down upon their impolent
bq. malignant foes With righteous contempt
varied . charaeter. A land Of music, Of beau
titul hills, OF sparkling rivers. A country whose
climate y as balmy as the Oriental elimes, whose
menloNs arc green and WHOSE mountains glow
with beautiful and enchanting forests. II Is q
cathedral grander than the architecture of
upon the whols face Of nature beauty, munih-
cence and grandeur. 49,
-'t rE' THE PEoPLB "T. .l o.
were Protestants before the Reformation. They
belieTsd In the Bible. Theyneyer bowed the knee
Of independent churches untilit vas engulfod in
cence the Eighth. When this Papal crusade
arose as one determined man and cried aloud TO
the encrosehments Of PaPacy: THUS far thou
shalt GO and no further This brought them
Pope. He Immediately inaugurated bloody and
| sanguine crusade against them, and carried war
and determination Into the heart OF their besuti-
Their government after the Reformation be-
came Presbyterian. They felt that public vor-
mefabis @ ordesis 70 secure this sacred privilege,
but, through their energy. pluck and persistency,
they overcame all difficulties, and worshiped
limits. They used all means possible to promote
education. They demanded educated pastors
They made education compulsory. Thus all of
the Waldenses were educated, and thoroughly
competent to accomplish great deeds, and OBJ
tained high sense Of freedom and morality
which forbade their bending their knees 20 the
always been bitterly opposed to national eduea-
tion. She mad control of the most beautiful
us sas s
They abhor enlightenment and civilization.
They scof at advancement. The only true way
dren, and thus Offset this fearful state of gnor-
ance which has blocked the wheels Of progress for
the past two thousand years.
PBRsEcUTED PEOPLE
The Waldenses were prosecuted in the most
perseeutedf They were honest men. why
should they have been molested2 They were
peaceful. Industrious, and happy. Why were
they hunted like dogs? History answers, "Be-
cause they would not recognize the Pope and
shackle their Heaven born freedom" And be-
cause they would not do this there was not .
meadow IN all their fair land but what was satu-
rated with blood: there WINS not rock without .
stain; there was not q stream without its crimson
color. All was marred and blasted by the infu-
rated and anguinary foes Of freedom, right, and
justice. But they were prepared for the sacrifice
And how could men die nobler2 Dying for the
land they loved-the land Of their natiVity-ths
land Of their forefathers. Sacrificed for ths sa-
cred principles of right-for the blessed religion
Of God-for the eternal teachings Of truth. They
u tSs Ss ana PTsPSsea Par ws
crusaders, they swarmed In the marrow defiles and
passes Of the rugged mountains, and gathered on
the hlIl-tops. At hrst victory crowned their arms
The archInen became famous for their intrepid
bravery. Never before In the annals OF history
had there been recorded such heroic deeds and
valorous actions. But their victories were Of
short duration. The mighty armies Of Roman
ism proved too strong for its handful OF devoted
Christians. By strategy they were overcome.
The archmen hurled themselves over the yawning
precipices and were dashed to pieces below. The
women and children refused to surrender and wore
summarily put to death. These sanguinary Victo-
rles checked the
PROGRESS OF REFORMATION.
The Pope was rapidly recovering from the almost
annihtlatlng shock which he received 1t the out
break. They commenced to summon all the
powers OF the Roman Church to the rescue. The
InQuisition renewed Its horrible tragedies. 1t
at this time that the Reformation offered itself to
Spain. Spain indlgn antly refused It, and In re-
turn hurled burning faggots Of bitter enmlty into
It's ranks, and this, combined with the mighty op-
posing force OF both the temporal and spiritual
Kingdom OF Catholicism, shook the Reformation
from centre to circumference 1t was q terrible
persecution-a persecution which left its foot
prints Of blood on every fair land of Europe, and
which eliminated in the massacre Of the Hugsu-
nots. .....
In closing, the reverend gentleman eulogizsd
the devoted love Of liberty which abOunded
among this strange people, and spoke at length
Of the Influence that their heroic actions have had
In moulding and fashioning the Tree Institutions OF
the world.