curiosity, or the danger of being an encourager of, or countenancing, a
false worship, unauthorized by God or his church."

"Ah, Paul," said the editor, "this is taking a high ground, and rather a
new one to me; and besides, this is not very logical, for this is what
we want to see. This is just the question in dispute between the Roman
Catholic church and the Protestant; viz., to which of the two belongs
true and lawful worship."

"You are a lawyer, sir," said Paul, "and you must know well the evidence
is all in favor of the Catholic church--being that founded by Christ,
and ruled and guided by the apostles. For, go back to the very apostolic
ages, and you will find the rites and the ceremonies of the church,
recorded in the writings of the ancient fathers,--as, for instance, in
the works of Tertullian, Ireneus, Ignatius,--to be the very same as
those now practised in the Catholic church in this country and all over
the world."

"I confess, Paul," said he, "that the external evidences are rather
favorable to Catholicity; but we principally depend on internal
evidence, or the feelings of our minds."

"That," said Paul, "is no evidence at all; for you have to do with
external facts. Institutions, history, monuments, testimony of men,
customs, and habits, are the only evidence you can bring to bear on this
controversy. How would you like to try a criminal by internal
evidence--to tell a jury that you had 'internal evidence' of the
innocence or guilt of the man accused? How could you discover whether or
not Cæsar lived by the light of internal evidence? Is it by internal
evidence you learn that such cities as Rome, Paris, or Constantinople