strongholds of sin, and to the laying prostrate every high imagination which seeks to exalt itself against the King of all kings. But though the only weapon which they wielded in this holy warfare was "the sword of the Spirit," and though the armour in which they clothed themselves consisted of "the shield of faith," and "the helmet of salvation," the girdle of truth, and "the breast-plate of righteousness," yet not without blood was the victory won. Still, as of old, truth had its martyrs. Still, as of old, they who put themselves in the vanguard of the cause of God, "had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonments," and were bound to the stake, and stretched upon the rack. Many a holy man and true counted not his life dear unto himself, if only he might witness a good confession before the princes of this world in the cause of that Saviour who died for his sins, and was raised again for his justification. Amidst the clouds which overshadow those dim and distant ages, which are familiarly known under the graphic description of "dark," there shines forth many a star, whose rays have illumined all succeeding times.

Our own England had her Wycliffe, called

the "morning star of the Reformation;" her Tyndale, who first gave the whole Bible in the vernacular tongue to his countrymen; her Cranmer, and Ridley, and Latimer, whose shroud was a robe of flame, and whose deathbed a couch of fire.

Amidst the forests of Germany rose Luther, that giant in mind, that lion in courage, who, having drunk in the waters of eternal life at the fountain of truth, resolved in the strength of the Lord that others should quench the thirst of their weary souls at the same Divine streams, and be partakers in blessings which he himself had found.

In the Alpine heights of Switzerland, Zwingle, born in the mountains of the Tockenberg, proclaimed, with a firmness and fearlessness which overawed the enemies of the truth, that gospel which had been to himself the "power of God unto salvation," and had delivered him "from the bondage of corruption unto the glorious liberty of the children of God."

In France, two simple men, one from the plains of Picardy, Jacques Lefêvre, the other from the champaign lands of Dauphiné, William Farel, boldly and faithfully taught those vital truths which contained the germ and seed of

the Reformation; truths which alone can, under the grace of God, give light and life to the dark and slumbering souls of men.

The fair province of Picardy gave birth, moreover, to another saint of God, who in after years stood in the vanguard of the battle which was waged against the errors and corruptions of Rome. At Noyon, much about the time that Martin Luther was preaching, with "lively and impetuous eloquence," the glad tidings of salvation in an old wooden chapel in the middle of the square at Wittenberg, was born JOHN CAUVIN, or, according to his more familiar name, CALVIN, on the 10th July, in the year 1509. It is to the history of this justly celebrated man that the reader's attention is to be directed; and it will be seen as the narrative proceeds, that he was, to use the words of Dr. De Félice, in his volumes on the Protestants of France, "the true chieftain of the French Reformation."

The parents of Calvin were persons of moderate fortune, who, by their uprightness and integrity of life, had gained the esteem of the neighbourhood in which they dwelt. His father, Gerard Calvin, had married a young woman of Cambray, of remarkable beauty and unassuming piety; her maiden name was Jeanne

Franc. Gerard possessed a talent for business, which, accompanied by a sound judgment and great ability, recommended him to the favour of the noblemen and landowners of the surrounding country. He was apostolic notary and procurator-fiscal of the lordship of Noyon, as well as secretary of the diocese and proctor of the chapter; his talents thus procured for him offices sought after by the noblest houses of the neighbourhood. His family consisted of his eldest son, Charles; his second son, John; a third, Anthony, who died young; and two daughters. Through the esteem entertained for his father, John enjoyed the benefits of an education with the children of a nobleman of high rank, one of the Mommors, a family of the first consideration in Picardy; his father, however, contributed to the expense. In the family of the Mommors John Calvin first acquired the elements of literature, and he there first developed the powers of his noble and gigantic mind. He afterwards entered the college of the Cassettes, founded in the city of Noyon. Though in years but a child, he loved retirement and obscurity, preferring the austerity of the college to the luxurious home of the Mommors. He tells us himself that he was of a

timid and rustic character, and the timidity natural to him was increased by the stern discipline under which he had been brought up by his father, a man of strict and severe mind.

The young Calvin passed most of his hours in the solitude which was so congenial to his retiring disposition. In his lonely chamber and in his solitary walks great thoughts had time to form themselves in his youthful soul. The boy was the father of the man. At times he would stroll out, full of earnest meditation, as far as the village of Pont l'Evêque, which contained the dwelling of his grandfather, a small cottage, and where others of his relations and kinsfolk also resided; but the best of his hours were devoted to study. The future philosopher and theologian was gathering together the elements of the strong power which he was to exert over the thoughts and minds of men to distant ages. To him, as he thus mused and thought, passing the hours in silent meditation, might be applied the words which Cicero used when speaking of Scipio Africanus, "Never less alone than when alone; never less at rest than when at rest." From early years this remarkable boy gave evidence of a spirit deeply imbued with religious feeling. Fischer, in his "Calvin's Leben,"