eintallaitUtt, THE ANABAPTISTS. rsoat HISTOItt 'Or' THE 'REFOII - IN THE '.NETHERLANDS. ET ,, N., M. S. Truth ever hasits counterfeits. ' Ear nestnese- in. behalf of a good 'cause' Will alwarg ' . be'l accompanied, with its carica ture; "finaticism. When • the tyranny of error:is broken up, there'tt!re never want ing. thbse who rush' to' the extremes of license. Ileeide,, eyiry Reformation eeems to, go ~ a ,Deformation. Many false Messiahs apPeared about the time of Christ And primitive Christianity must neediViiißtggle with immoral and wild eiertierris' seeking to attach them selves to it. Paul was compelled to warn bI4I- 1 1fearers and converthi inot to use their evangelical liberty 4 ' for an oc= 'melon to the flesh;" and' John, in his lettersi to the seven churches', rebukes the Nicolaitans, those that held' the doc trine of Balsam'and the adherents of the false prophetess, Jezebel,— as errc•rists who have .sounded the ,, very depths of Satan, While, calling themselves Chris tians and seeking to identify themselves with the ,early' Church:; So,;+we . .! cannot wonder,that,,by the side of a' movement so purgoo ,Scriptural, so honestly aimed at the spiritual elevation . of .men. ' as the Reformation', should arise a phenomenon so 4 hat.efal .arAlsodacandalons. as .Ana--' baptism. And the false reformation has its ,great,use..., .I.t, ; helps us to' :recognize the trim, ly.,the, side of. Gods work goes man's .work. They who ;.would &utile hand ,of God , in the Lutheran Reformation, need only to lie pointed , to the „e.Teesses, of the Anabaptists, to learn what sort of work, man, at ,the prompt-, ing'of the deril,'WOuld Make of, such, a. movement. In no . way, could it have. been Made, more..clearly .to appear that there is a, wide gulf, bet,ween a Iteforma ton, Vaeed on the word. of God and a fan,atie,a l .l exeitetnent,,than In this con- , treat. InAike,,little town of Zwickau,- on the western borders of Saxony, south of Leipzig, some ignorant but strong-mind ed men fell into the delusion of imagin ing themselves divinely inspired tiroph ets, sent to complete the Reformation, as they said, so feebly sketched by Luther. They .rejected the ,Scriptures as unnecegeary for 'those who were en lightened by immediate revelation. They considired themielyes sole .I ju)ges of what was right: and *icing. Raving cast off the yoke of Rornanism, they it wishe at the same _ time to throw, off ever:f itiiiraiot and ,to, follow their own individual inclinatiops. They prophe sied the eaAY 4p.(1 Vicilent!oilirtlitow of the present state of things. They went through the,. town. and country crying, Woel ;Woe the day of the Lord draweth nigh." They taught that infant baptism was valueless, and required all men tO,, map , and receive from their bands the true baptism, as a sign of their introduction to the true Church of God. From Zwickau these fanatics came to the home -of; Luther in But Lu ther was , still a fugitive, safely concealed • in the' Castle' of Wartburg. And in his absence great mischief. was done by these violent men,, *any of his friends were led away by the con tagiOn of their enthusiasm. They en tered the Churches and carried away the images,.`broke them in pieces and burned them. ~,,Learning was decried as un necessary when ignorant men could be come, ,prophets.' The old professor, Carlstadt, advised, his pupils to return home to the spade and the plough, and the master at the boys' school at Wit tenberg, called to the assembled citizens from the window to come and,take away their children. Men's . minds became disturber.-ITie.itudentslt4Wittenberg 'University grew disorderly and finally dispersed., ~The Reformation seemed on the poin'toli the very place: of its origin. The friends of Rome on all sides gained, confidenee,, and exclaimed, " One slruggle more/one last 'struggle and all will be ours." Luther was not in the slightest de gree staggered by the news 'which reached him in 'his' retreat, that a new race ot.prOphets had arisen, who claimed the sublime privilege of direct commun ion with God.' . But. he feOls "that the time hags "come for his appearance at Wittenberg.,. J.rE, spite of the opposition of his prOteciteri. on the 3d of March, 1522, he bade adieu to the ancient towers and gloomy forestaof the Wartburg, and on the 7th of'kaich, amid general re joicing, he e e t ntered the scene of his earlier labors, and , engaged= iii the great task which had especially summoned him forth. It was a new and most serious undertakifig. ' Thq question to' e settled was, whether thq elements of fanaticism which had hegun to work in connection with the Reformation could be separated from it ; whether itt. could be Eihown to the work?) that a movement, 'like Protes tantisEn,Spr. the liberation of the human spirit from ages of religious tyranny, was capable. of .maintaining and establishing itself as something entirely pure and beneficent, essentially upon , the side of publisorder,and ; or whether it must be swallowed up by the , disor derly elements which came to the sur face at the swine time; Eidd.l3O'be proved to be Siibgianti'ally ill. no wise different from them. ; - Lutheloa lance ascended the pulpit and preached every day for a week. This bold and lion-like man, who has been called the third Elijah, had no ana themas for the disturbers of the peace THE "'AMERICA* - ' POS#It Eitiliiill ... 7ifitligt6.l l .:Tetoiliti i'; id, iY86,6:1 and the perverters of the doctrines , he had drawn 'from the Scriptures. In tender and noble language, first corn. mending, like Paul in his Epistles, what, he found worthy of praise among his people, he proceeds to argue, to admonish ,and to rebuke, with a plest sagacious mixture of indignation against error and of caution in dealing with, the. offenders. In eight sermons, it is said, he did , not allow one offensive word agt4nst the disturbers to escapo him. - Thit he con-, tittered. The false prophets lost' their adherents, the people returned to their quiet pursuits,- thb . tumultuous :tassa,ultg upon Romish- idolatry, ceased, .and Ana baptism no longer had l ocilio c i, Wittenberz. ~Two of titefkrOilets4ought ,an interview with Luther. In reply to their long , arguments, he simply declared that nothing' theY advanced 'Was 4kis tamed by the Seriftures, and alit 'the whole thing: was, a fable.. : The,prophets flew into a rage. Liather demanded a miracle. ' Another' one, more ortlni, 'and affecting at the, moment id insidred declared that he know,what was passing in Luther's •thoughts, and that he; Luther, was'beginning . to incline - to theif doc trine. " The Lord, rebuke thee, Satanl" was Luther's deliberatei.and calm reply.. At, this' they raged like 'irkadnien, and cried out " The Spirit . ; the `Spirit." ther r "uttered some, expressions of, extreme contempt ,for titeir spirit, and the ~prot phets departed foaming- with anger. Thus, in a campaigrr - Of a week, this most dangerous enemy , OP Alie kdforilaki tion and of Christian . 9iViliiation; Was routed, and driven ;from:the, was in the. middle of.Marth, 1-5211 - But, though - driven' t: from F Witten; berg, theile false teachers' , / wOZ . by ;no meanscrobbed of the power or ,disposition. to clo mischief. , They,.; and :others, of opinions; :passed from country. to Country,' givinweeriduistiOnblB in SWit zerlarid Bohemia ` .and ; Saxony but making llollandthe chief seat of their disorders. . Their heresy was not sup pressed, but the great point ivas . gained that they 'hereafter stood in open oppo sition to :the Lutheran-• Reformation. This continued to' move onward, in its' own' lofty and independent' sphere, while the Anabaptists were known as a sect by themselves, and the whole movement, though carrying along with it many good but misguided men, ivaa'manifestly brit' outburst` of fanaticisl, intense and mischievous enough while it lasted, but , soon exhausting - itself and vanishing from-sight. • We read for several years of the Anabaptists in Holland suffering simi lar punishments and persecutions with ,the Protestants, froni the Popish authori ties. ' And juit as the aympatliies and interest' of • many were .• aroused / by the peraccutions and:sufferings , of ,the Pro testants, •so the suffering- :Anabaptists won friends and adherents,. who other .wise would never have known Of 'the existence of the sect. ,So they continued to increase, until, in, the. year. 1533, they made , a bold effort-to realize , theiedrearas Of temporal conquest and dominion. They had become very numerous in the German :town o'f:-.Mnnster, but a few miles east of the boundary of Holland. The: government , having issued a -pro- Clamation against them, they took up arms and invited their,brethren in neigh `boring towns to come to their, aid. , Thus reinforced, they became masters of the place, and those who would not join or :submit to thein, Were compelled to leave :on pain of instant death. :This was in the spring of -1534. 'The whole "town being given over to their control, they plundered the churches and-divided up the goods'of the fugitives: All kinds of books were lonrned but the Bible., (To be Continued.) REV. MR. HAMMOND'S 'LETTER FROM SWITZERLAND. SWITZERLAND, Sept. 17,-1866 MY DEAR Mx. MEAES :—We are still wandering'among the grand' old, moun tains of Switzerland. This is now my fourth visit, -and I, have,. therefore, been able Ito:act as -a guide: for` our Tiarty. - Rev. Dr. Buddington and wife joined us at Paris. We enjoy their society exceedingly. I think•they will go with us all the way •to Palestine. , Last Monday we chartered a carriage to take us dyer the Branig Pass. Seven years ago I went on foot over this same mountain pass. I remember 'I walked that day not less than twenty-five miles. The bracing air of these snow-capped mountains, once we are accustomed to it, enables one to walk this distance with no great fatigue. I was' never more strong and well' than *hen walk ing twenty or thirty miles a day, up and down the mountain passes. I remember that I' then walked up and down the Rhigi without the least injury ; every step of it was full of enjoyment.' But my walk down that mountain:last Fri day was rather severe upon me. My wife and party were on horseback, and I kept up with them all the way. At the time, it was high enjoyment to be bounding along from rock to rock ; • but the next morning I felt as if I was eighty-five years of 'age. But I am now all right again. We reached . the Falls Of GieSbach on Monday night, and were present at their grand illumination with Bengal lights. It reminded me a little of the illuminat ed fountains of the Crystal Palace of which I wrote you. Tuesday we drove from Interlachen to Lauterbrunn- and Grinden*ald. Here welound ourselves in the very midst of 'the glorious Bet.- nese Alps, rising ten or eleven thousand feet in the air. Think of • it—two miles above the leVel of the sea I The sublime . . sights witnessed. from ; these places - . are, to be, seen rather than described. Itis interesting to notice the boundaries; of 'the natural" iingdoM in Switzerland: •The region of oaks : extends .from 1700, to about 2800 feet. The region of fir trees rises to 4000 feet. But flocks , of cattle and goats are seen feeding "far abOvethese. Above 800'0' feet is the lower limit of the regi9n of • eternal snow, where glaciers are.formed and from which, they press their way sometimes- far hfi- Jow,where the' flocks ''crop r the g,reen , herbage.: Here, too„are formedtheaya; lanches which sometimes come tlitinde'r-, ing down the mountain'side. 'At:: Lau leibinna .Wellieard; one which 'Elerinded much. like ;the aipipsion of a cannon; In fact„the . ladies in :our party were . at ... first confident that, it was"a, -cannon., On our way to Griridenwalit I .could .but notice that the cascades from the high mountain sides' were . just about the same, in qiiiintity ,9f - water that: th 4 were seven yeamago, When I flrst,salv, ahem' ;At.first sight, yon would think: that all the water ,would' 'furl.` -off 'these 'barren 'rocks in 'one, hour's' time It .would, seem. as,if there Janet he some, secret - source of = supply; not iat.once dis-. hoVerable.' Sia . 'it occurred 'to me that eminent 'ClitiatianS; who j 4and:' . liikh . above thost around them, and who are, ;much with God; ;have , a , constant , supply . ;of Divine - grace . of which the world 'knows nothing. ,Yea,;; " The secret of the Lord is with them that ,fear,•Him.", l They that -water; gathers , Ighall , them-. 1 selves be watered."' ''Those who ard-1 much in the Divine - -presence can say, "Alt .ruy, springs ,are In ..Theeki' ::"The` World; an d ;worldly Christians= may look with doubt Upon slich, and l exclainithey tare SO.much taled about and looked up to, they will soon get } filled ;with pride and vanity arid then'eease; to bea , bless . king to' others. ' Bet if they can still, year , rafter year, truthfully say, 4 ,-411 my springs are in Thee," they will constant ly be a means 'of' blessing; to -others. Yet, atthe same tinin, with all hliiility, they will feel their entire,, dependence on God, never once forgettingthe words of the Lord Jesus : "; Without Me ye can, 'do nothing," ('.Polin ' - xv. 5). if God has' a *ink for one of his followers .to per form, he can fit him for it, and lead him. all the time to' feel that he is hint . an humble agent in the hands' of the -Dis penser of events. I' : could but notice that as, we, from time to time, ascended higher up the mountain sides, sometimes' reaching as far as five or eight thousand. t t that the size_ of the atones laid ' n the thatched roofs was increased. We ob se:.ved.that on some`of the buildings on the 'sides of the mountains, a mile, or, more high, the stones were each as large as a man could lift, when only a' few' miles distant, in the valley; they . were much smaller. We were told that it : Was because the wind along the high mountain .passes is sometimes so Strong as to blew :of their roofs,, yea, and to break their :houses in' pieces if these great stones. are not placed on- them to keep them down. Does not God also find it necessary , to place many weights, upon those,Who make high attainmentsdn the Divine life ? Dr. Payson once said that "Few knew the penalty of popularity. 7 Those who have read:his life knew how many were ,his afflictions. This may be the reason he never seems to have been made proud, because he was Permitted to be 'a work ing servant for the Master. Paul " was caught up , into Paradise," and that was one reason why - , ;it seems, the Lord fnund it necessary to lay trials, more' heavy than stones, to keep him, from ;being , blown away'to destruction by the stormy winds of ,temptation: He found that God in love sent them upon• him, lest he " should be exalted a,bove"mea , sure." And he could hear his Father "y s su went for thee grace.iffi ' ' say : for my strength is made perfect in weak ness." No wonder that‘hesubreissively exclaims : "Most gladly, therefore, will ,I rather glory in my infirmities, that.the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproacheS, in necessities; in perse6U tions; in distresses.for Christ,'"s sake, for. when :.I ; am weak' then am I strong.", : Would that all God's children- were 'as submissive under their hurdens of Or rows as Was Paul. We spent a day or two •very plea santly at Berne.' It 'commands one 'of the finest views Of. the Beim*, Alps. We sat 'for hours, filled. with wonder and delight at the constantly changing panorama. It was interesting to learn all the names of the different peaks. It, is wonderful how fond you become •of mountains the more you dwell among' them. They have a language of their' own, which is not at once easily trans:. lated. I well•rernember,how I was .dis=` appointed at the first sight of Gray Loch and the mountains about Williams' College, of which I had heard so much. But I was a freshman then, in that one. particular. I had not been much ac quainted with mountain scenery. Hence I was not able at once to discovertbe beauty and majesty of the everlasting hills. But after I had lived four years among those mountains"-or I should call them, in speaking of them from Switzerland:--I .learned to love them. I had Via,ndere - d -- up and , down their, steep sides and learned, among •other things, that they were much higher than I had supposed. So I have found that the longer I linger among the. Alps, the better I understand them. 'Li the distance, the. Rhigi looks email. So it is, - when compared with Mount Blanc, which is more than three times as high. Bid a walk up or down the Rhigi, which from its isolateA position, com mands ope,of, the, finest views in Swit serland, convinces one of its deserved repntation. , Itiis no' wonder , that himJ dzedS, day after day; `all Sniing the sum-, mer months, climb to , its top. ' ' We spent one night .at Rogatz, that we might. 'drive out to fifeffers-bad, which is one pf the inept, ""'remarkable places in, Switzerland. Our nide-books toldi us it was •"the nibst tremendous tgOrge in the whole chain of the ,Alim;'", 'and I ani Une'cOntent to believe it It' so•deep in places ~so. entirely covered :over: and shaded from• the . sun,.that4t is• , Erie; difficult to read, At eniforit • riot springrather, ‘, • . • • • • • winner cace4,to expose my hand to, for any length of time. These waters supply a.large water-cure establishment. 7 From COire we ,'took the , i dilligence over, the Splugen, which ,follows' up to the, source of the Rhine. When we reached the defile of the Via, Iffqla, we'ail alight: ed to, gaze, ,upon „the - wpriders of the :The rocits Tlek almost perpen dibularly 1600 'feet above the roaring torrent A: flat stone falling hiindreds of feet into the Stream iiani the bridge,` the whple place,ring with the loud, report 7 We passed the;Sabhathst Spin gen, not quite a' mile 'high, but . so`; high that:we found, snow about us . . It, snowed nearly all day.,_ It was, indeed, a Sabbath never tp . forg4ten. The day ,before, fialikValle.Y” e had, suffered"vliti l , igi'e"tiea7i, and ev)ri - as we ascend4L` e, ` we. saw the farmers ,all• along loading., hay, .on. their. little wegons; drawn•by cows. So you r •• se, - we pred I fret., 'summer to , wi l ikteTAlr ,9 1 1thYr,— , • Sabbath 'morning ,we went , to the Pro testant was filled with ae- Vont •Vor'Shipyiks: Many must have walked miles . down the, slippery, moun tain to be • ,,present. was perfectly amazed: to find ?our or five hundred pre sent. In all the storm and with only a few' house in sight, I:only expected 'to see about fifty, tender, babe, even, was .brought through the snow to ,be baptized. It , was, as 'is the ''eustom,. WraPped'ap like at,' ,Tgyptiap,inuml4. The 'German minister fondled if, three times with water, as,heibaptized it in the name •of the Father and - of the Son and Of tlinlifely Ghost. We have to go -7000 feet : above. tl e,. level of ,the sea before - wereach the top of the mountain. But I must close this letter and send it' down the mountain. toward, the Unites States. 'I 'shall yen- Lure to inclose some verses which I wrote one day last week, while sitting in• our cariage waiting for the Jung Fraii,.tow:: ering 12,827 feet in the them we have changed As we.approach the sun. Yds, we can, tell . them we have not That longifade of sonl, Whicl we once,had when we set out To reach the heavenly goal. As t toyvarcl the Sii of ,righteousness • We evermore draw , nigh, • , , Like His will be our glorious dress When we are Called'to die.. ' Thep, landed safe beyond'hfe s sea, `We!ne'er froth `Chris . shall part, • But in all-perfect harmony . :We shalrbe one in heart. ' 1 Pet:iv. 4. Your brother in Christ, E. P. 11:a AMON]) Ntitvr7,s Eabtf. 'PWiDENBoRG. The Divine Attributes, in ' eluding_also the Divine Trinity; a Treatise on`the Divine,Love, and Wisdom and Cor respondence. From the " Apocalypse Fa , plained' ' of Emanuel `Swedenborg. 'Phila delphia :.;J. B. Lippincott & Co. 12m0., pp. 390. As specimens of the peculiar doe , trines - and speculations of .a gifted" and profound thinker, but one far astray i fipm •the simple truths of the Gospel and the plain' and positive requireinents of common' 'sen's'e; this volume has its; interest and value to the reflecting public. Some of the disciples of the Swedish'-transcendentalist must be de voting money, and' pains in no small measure,, for tlie:publication 'pf the opin ions of their master. The volume is al most luxurious in its .typography, and we cannot believe, among so limited tv circle; enough copies, are dispOsed of to actual readers, to make the work pay in a mercantile point of view. AKEas. Poems. By Elizabeth Akers. (Floc ' epee Percy.) Boston : Ticknor & Fields. Blue and gold ? pp. 248. For sale by J. B. Lippincott & Co. It is only necessary ,to remind our readers that this volume is from the pen of the author of " Rock me to Sleep, Mother;" to Comniand for it, a favorable reeeptiOn. Thethemes'of her muse are tnoStli familiar, draWn from a personai ,exPeriertee not beyend . the common sympathy - of Men. They' , touch with skill'sand' gentleness many half-hidden lehbidg of fgeling. They are frequently sit,d, yet a vein of hope and, cheerful fiess,itins 'through them and saves them 'from 'the"esthetic . viCe of melancholy, , witHo it r4bhing tlin of a genuine po-: 'etithif . pithos. With a very great variety in veiSifiVation; itieY smodtblY'and musically, It is a book that' MUst take hi)ld:bl the popular geatit: '1 TiSLOA.. Ths Picture ,ef, St. John. By ,Bayaril Taylor. Bbsten: Ticknor& 'Fields. `16m0., pp. 221 D For erzde iberN,re. 1 0fir Penn'sYlv*ihia.'poet 'here traces in a *e'tfical iomance . the'life 'of an 'artist, ,toward which he hipmeltlhad; as he explains in the byrenipe. ijneS, a strong` pedilebtien: is iwrougke With deep' . p4ssien, con:'amate; - and Seems truly . ; to' ,expresS:what: Might ave 'been:the ,poet's experience in 'a,' different pilisuit in life. illie'sehl.of the artist' is laid' 'here, and the great' viciSsitudes and stages of hbi `development, as modified' 'i3:3; - the-events' of his' Ont Ward life; are 'told with' a lieaity of language, ig music' - of verse, an , intensity of - feeling,' and a'richness of, thought, which, entitle' the' work toy rank, .as ajlpoem of- high • Order: Sometimes one.,is reminded-of the frank siinplicity, of. :Wordsworth, and- •again the pstreamtlof thought sgets -mused in , mithetiGlintrioacy, , ,hordering Zl3. that of BTowning. The tstory, however, is. not fsr beyond the: ranges of ;common' inventibni and the-pbem is chiefly remarkable for the play-of artigt .lite,agoundrthe simple tocidents. , !We niust, take,