n first. But in point of fact, _democracy
is a mischievous dream, wherever the Catholic Church does not
predominate_, to inspire the people with reverence, and to
teach and accustom them to obedience to authority."

Here is still plainer language from the Roman Catholic Bishop of St.
Louis:

"Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in Christian countries, as
in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all the people are
Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an essential part
of the law of the land, they are punished as other crimes."

Here is what the _Boston Pilot_ says, a Catholic paper of high standing:

"_No good government can exist_ without religion, and there can
be no religion without an _inquisition_, which is wisely
designed for the promotion and protection of the _true faith_."

Here is the _Shepherd of the Valley_, published under the eye and with
the approbation of the Bishop of St. Louis:

"The Church is, of necessity, intolerant. Heresy she endures
when and where she _must_; but she hates it, and directs all
her energies to its destruction. If Catholics ever gain an
immense numerical majority, religious freedom in this country
is _at an end_: so say our enemies--_so say we_."

And here is what the _Rambler_ says, a devoted Catholic periodical, high
in the confidence of the Bishops and Priests of that Church:

"You ask if he (the Pope) were lord in the land, and you were
in the minority, if not in numbers, yet in power, what would he
do to you? That, we say, would entirely depend on
circumstances. If it would benefit the cause of Catholicism, he
would tolerate you--if expedient, he would imprison you, banish
you, fine you, probably he might even hang you; but, be assured
of one thing, he would never tolerate you for the sake of the
'glorious principles' of civil and religious liberty."

I could give other quotations of this character, which have met your eye
long since, but I forbear, as they would extend my letter beyond the
limit I have prescribed for myself. These are the publications which, in
part at least, have given rise to the Know-Nothing organization, so
cordially hated by you.

You say there is no danger of injury to our institutions from the rapid
strides of Romanism. Allow me to ask your attention to the following
remarkable political prediction by the Duke of Richmond,