father’s interest, as they eagerly drink in the instruction he imparts. And soon the glorious sun has climbed high above the clear horizon, and the circle is broken up. Some of the students seek the shelter of the forest to con their sacred tasks, and some climb the heights, or search the margin of the stream for healing herbs ; but when the dew falls on the herbage, and the labour of the vine-dresser is ended, and the goat-herd has driven home his flock, we see them all cross the green hollow, and stand reverently around the holy man as he reads and explains to them God s sacred Word. The voice of prayer, sweet and solemn, is then heard in the vast wilderness the voice of one interpreter of the wants and woes of the kneeling mountaineers; and then the full burst of praise mingles with the roar of the descending torrent; and again all is hushed but its brawling waters, as the Christians steal, in silence and secrecy, to their homes, trembling lest even the stars that light them on their way should betray them to their lurking foes.
But now the Vaudois pastor and his flock meet no more by stealth on the Pra del Tor. Thanks be to God, to the tolerance of their ruling princes, and to the benevolent aid of Christian friends, they have now churches in which they can meet, and a college in which they can educate the rising generation “none making them afraid.” It is truly a blessed change; but we have a long train of persecution to unfold, ere it will find a place in our history of the Vaudois Church.
This mountain retreat, which we have described in some what fanciful terms, is very dear to the men of the valleys. It has well deserved their veneration, since we shall find it affording them not only a place of refuge, but a fortress of defence at once their temple and academy, their castle and
