preachers. In the Baltic provinces, when the mihtary, who happen to be stationed there, have no Russian church within reach, the Russian priests never hesitate to perform divine service in a Protestant church, and in the interior it Itas happened that they have lent their own cliurches to Protestants. In Austria, Protestant churches are only called prayer houses. In Russia the priests treat them as on an equal footing with their own. Neither do they hesitate to bury their dead in the same churchyards with the Protestants. The cultivated part of the priesthood, who understand German, are much more inchned to the Protestant than to the Catholic party ; more to rationalism than mysticism. Their libraries prove it. Kiemeyer's works, his Bible, the Stunden der Andacht, Schleiermacher's writings, Neander's Church History, are frequently met with. Here and there I have even seen Strauss's Life of Christ. The works of the other party are on the contrary very rare. When some recent occurrences in the Baltic provinces and in Poland are called to mind, it may be thought that the Russian priesthood are somewhat less tolerant now than formerly, and in fact it is only natural, that with the proud exaltation of political power, the church should also begin to lift up her head. As the government seeks to advance the political creed, the church may endeavour by more urgent zeal and greater energy to spread " the one and only true faith ;" but if the chui'ch does take her share in the conquests, and appears to progress in those provinces, it does so certainly far less from its own impulse than in consequence of commands emanating from a higher quarter.
That the Protestants in Russia have generally their own churchyards arises from other causes, and certainly not from any want of toleration on the part of the liussian priests. In many, both parties are mingled indiscriminately.
THE ACADEMIES AND SEMINARIES OF THE CLERGY.
The academies and seminaries of the clergy boast of having awakened many a great mind for Russia. Speransky and Lomonossoif are not the only names. Much is said to be taught there. All instruction is given in the Russian and Latin languages. After Latin, — Greek, and the Slavonian languages (in the latter all the Russian ecclesiastical books are written), are the chief points of attention. Hebrew is seldom taught at all. I have often seen the students in the different towns, before their doors, or in the courts of the seminary, busily engaged with their books sometimes even in winter, and in the snow ; but in general they were only learning by rote. The priests have, of course, with different classes of pupils different methods of enforcing their instructions. The man of the "people" if he be taught at all, is taught otherwise than the future priest, otherwise than the son of a noble. To the first it is only " take and believe." " To the latter, whose awakened spirit of inquiry they cannot repress in any other way, they give plausible motives and significations for all their ceremonies and dogmas. They have some pretty symboHcal meaning for every practice, historical sanction for every trifle ; a text from Scriptures for every ordinance, and thus by reconciling the mind to their usages, they win assent to their existence.
This is the course of private instniction. In public every dogma of the church is advanced in unadulterated purity, and the most exact and complete answers ai'e required to the most direct and special questions. As a proof of this I will give a specimen of an examination held by a priest of some rank, in the presence of a great assembly. On these occasions a casket is presented to the students, who draw out the questions, which are written in the Latin language. For example, the following : Quid est ccelum? Quid est Deus? &c. The first student drew the question Quid est angelus ?
Priest. Bene ! Dicas mihi quceso quid sit angelus .^
Pupil. A holy spirit serving God in Heaven.
Priest. Bene. How many angels are there in Heaven ?
Pupil. A vast number, it cannot be precisely given.
Priest. Indeed ! It can be precisely given ! Who knows ?
Another Pupil. Twelve legions.
Priest. Bene. How many compose a legion ?
Pupil. In the time in which the Bible was AVTitten, a legion was composed of about 4500.
Priest. How many angels are there then in Heaven ?
The pupil tried in vain to reckon it in his head.
Priest. If you cannot reckon it in your head, take the chalk and reckon it on the board.
The pupil took the chalk and wrote down
I should hesitate to give a specimen, as it is somewhat difficult to helieve in its correctness, if I had not had it word for word from the mouth of a man I could rely on, and who was present at the examination.