The

Catholic Miscellany;

AND MONTHLY

REPOSITORY OF INFORMATION,

FOR AUGUST, 1823..

BIOGRAPHY.

WILLIAM BALLANTINE,

WHO may with great propriety be considered the founder of the Scotch missions, was born of Protestant parents of great respectability. His uncle was lord of the sessions, and in consequence of the titles which he enjoyed was stiled lord Newall, although he actually possessed no title higher than that of knight, and on his mother's side he was descended from the Cockbournes of Skerling. His early years were spent in the college of Edinburgh, from whence he was removed to Paris, and here it was that he became a convert to the Catholic faith. Being not long after sent to Rome, and admitted a student at the Scotch college, although in a very delicate state of health, he nevertheless applied himself most diligently to the study of philosophy, and publicly sustained his defensions with great credit to himself in honour of lord James Douglas, son of the marquis, and colonel of the old Scotch regiment in France. When his course of theology was completed, he returned to Paris, but like many others becoming dissatisfied at the manner in which the Scotch college was at that time governed, he retired into his native country, a very short time previous to the execution of Charles the first, and commenced his missionary labours, to the great consolation of the suffering. Catholics, who were then most deplorably situated with regard to spiritual instructors. The Almighty gave a blessing to his pious endea

vours, and he became the happy instrument of the conversion of many persons, some of whom were of the first families in Scotland. Through his means, his own brother, who had been a page to the prince elector Palatine, and a major among the covenanters, forsook the errors in which he had been reared, and embracing the faith once delivered to the saints, shortly afterwards expired in sentiments of the greatest compunction and piety. After being thus actively engaged for about a year, he made a trip to Paris, for the purpose of laying before the proper quarter the actual state of the Catholic affairs at home; and also in the hope of procuring co-operators in the work of the Lord's vineyard. In this he was not deceived, for he was soon joined by a zealous friend whom he had left in Rome, and they both passed over into Scotland in the year 1650. Here they had much to suffer from the difficulties of the times, nevertheless they were the means of reconciling several respectable families, who had yielded to the long persecution of the covenanters; and they had also the happiness of receiving into the household of the faithful, many others, who renouncing their former erroneous opinions, became living members of the mystical body of the church of Christ. About the year 1658 Mr. Ballantine took his passage on board a vessel bound from Rye in Sussex, to Dieppe in Normandy, with a view of being present at the approaching religious profession of a sister of lady Huntly. This vessel however was taken by an armed bark from Ostend, and he was robbed of his money and clothes; but he was set at liberty at Ostend as soon as it was known who he was. Upon this occasion one of his fellow-passengers and captives, a man of consequence, and who from the rank he held in society, would scarcely have been supposed to have been engaged in the part of an informer, conjecturing that he would return by Rye, as he had left his horse there, discovered him upon his arrival to the searcher of that port, and insisted upon his apprehension. He was consequently seized, and immediately conveyed to London. He was then carried before Cromwell's secretary, who after some examination committed him to a messenger's house in Westminster, where he was detained upwards of a year, during which time his unaffected piety, his resignation,

and his peaceable conduct, so far obtained him the good will of his keeper, that he reported him in so favourable a light to Cromwell's court, as to induce the secretary to grant him his discharge, and to order all his expenses to be reimbursed. As soon as he recovered his liberty, he again went to France,'where he spent but a very short time, and then returned to the zealous performance of his missionary duties in his own country. Here he was the happy means of reconciling James Crichton, a fallen Catholic priest of Carco, who shortly afterwards died in sentiments of great fervour and compunction. Some time after this he settled in the north of Scotland, and resided at lady Huntly's, at Elgin, and here his last sickness seized him, which was of short duration; for he remained ill but a few days, edifying all who attended him, by his profound resignation to the divine will, by his humility, and by the ardent piety of his dying accents, he happily breathed his last; and such was the esteem in which he was held, that the magistracy, and nearly the whole population of the town of Elgin accompanied his funeral, which took place at torch light. Thus closed the active but too short life of this zealous and indefati

gable missionary. He was mild and affable in his manners, a good preacher, and an excellent controvertist; in his devotional exercises he was particularly attached to the works of father Lewis, of Grenada, Roderigues, St. Francis de Sales, father Suffren; indeed from this last author, he principally extracted the little book, which appeared after his death, entitled, A Praparation for Death, or the Practice of Dying Well, printed anno 1672. It was greatly admired, and certainly is a standing proof that he himself was well prepared to meet the awful event. He had successfully exerted himself in establishing a small fund which he raised upon the continent in aid of the Scottish clergy, and he procured books, vestments, &c. to supply the exigences of the mission. Indefatigable in his labours, he spared neither time nor personal convenience, when the wants of his neighbour were to be relieved, or the interests of religion could be promoted. In fine, he made himself all to all, and was indeed an Insraelite in whom there was no guile.

To the EDITOR of the CATHOLIC MISCELLANY.

MR. EDITOR, Since you did me the honour to insert the hasty remarks I made on the subject of scepticism in your last number, you are at liberty, if you think it worth while, to insert the following observations, which occurred to me on reading a work lately put into my hands by a friend. It is by a missionary named Bickersteth, and is called, Helps to the Reading of the Holy Bible. It is truly grievous to think that men who call themselves Christian teachers, should do so much mischief, through their bigotry, ignorance, or calumnies. The first thing which struck me was the errors or falsehoods in his chronology; in page 170 he begins, " Boniface, the third bishop of Rome." In the punctuation of these words there is an error which to a superficial observer may appear trifling. The learning of the rev. author forbids us to attribute it to ignorance. It may be an error of the press but when we reflect how favourable the mistake is to his argument of the ninth period, where he undertakes to shew the rise of Popery, it has too much the appearance of wilful misrepresentation, and his reference to Daniel seems to authorize the suspicion; for if by the reference he means any thing, he must mean to identify the three bishops of Rome with the three horns mentioned by the prophet. It must be observed likewise, that this is the first time during the period of 600 years that he mentions the pope or bishop of Rome. He consequently gives his ignorant readers to understand that the popedom and popery took their rise about the time which he in his wisdom chooses to appoint for them. As well might we write George, the third king of England, as Boniface, the third bishop of Rome, since no less than 60 popes preceded Boniface the third, in the chair of Peter.

Page 170-(666 qr.)" The pope ordered public prayers to be said in Latin." If the rev. gentleman has ever consulted any liturgy beyond the period of his common-prayer book, I should be glad to be informed by him in what language public prayers were read previously to this order of the pope. “The

Waldenses preach the true and everlasting gospel." And does this gentleman know what the tenets of the Waldenses were ? Among other things they said it was unlawful for the clergy to have estates or prebends, and that they ought to work with their own hands as the apostles did that no rents or tithes ought to be paid to them—that all bishops were murderers because they tolerate wars; and that men ought to die rather than take an oath even in a court of judicature; they condemned all princes and judges, saying it was never lawful to punish malefactors, or put any man to death. How far these opinions are consistent with the true and everlasting gospel, I must leave our rev. author to determine. That some of them at least are not very consistent with his own sentiments and feelings, I think I may venture to affirm without any danger of contradiction. The opinions of Wickliffe, of the Bohemians, and Albigenses were very much of the same stamp. To these they added opinions as little consistent with morality as religion. That many of the Waldenses were cruelly and unjustly murdered, is true; but it is equally true they brought this severity of punishment on their own heads by their outrageous and rebellious conduct. The great reformation!! began by Luther-the reformation of Luther, and the reformation in England proceeded much in the same way!!! There is perhaps more truth in this assertion than the rev. gentleman would readily admit. Luther undertook to reform the church, that he might be enabled, contrary to his most solemn vow, to indulge his lecherous propensities, and he married a nun. The eighth Henry had the same motives for reform, and passed the remainder of his life in open adultery, justified by murder !— During a number of years the servants of Christ were persecuted by the Roman empire-which same Roman empire was subverted according to this accurate chronologist, 100 years before the persecution commenced. I have now done with the chronological table. I should never have made a remark on this book, but that its sale has been extensive, and as Mr. B. passes with the world as a pious missionary, a profound theologian, a great divine, and a learned man-and he is peculiarly fond of quoting the bible, and the revelations of St. John in particular, he will not I trust (should these remarks come in his way),