gents ahead and secured the co-operation of some certain
priest, under the auspices of whose church the place was to be worked.
This priest would gather a big delegation of men, women and children,
and they would go out in a body to meet the representative of God's
Vicegerent on earth. The Pope couldn't come himself, and so he sent John
Tetzel.

Tetzel was carried on a throne borne on the shoulders of twenty-five
men. His dress outshone any robe ever worn by mortal Pope. Upon his head
was a crown, and in his hand a hollow, golden scepter that enclosed his
commission from the Pope. In advance of this throne was carried an
immense cross, painted red. As the procession entered a village, people
would kneel or uncover as the Agent of the Pope passed by; all traffic
would cease--stores and places of business would be closed. In the
public square or marketplace a stage would be erected, and from this
pulpit Tetzel would preach.

The man had a commanding presence, and a certain rough and telling
eloquence. He was the foremost Evangelist of his day. He had a chorus of
chanters, who wore bright robes and sang and played harps. It will thus
be seen that Moody and Sankey methods are no new thing. Crowds flocked
to hear him, and people came for many miles.

Tetzel reasoned of righteousness and judgment to come; he told of the
horrors of sin, its awful penalties; he pictured purgatory, hell and
damnation.

Men cried aloud for mercy, women screamed, and the flaming cross was
held aloft.

Men must repent--and they must pay. If God had blessed you, you should
show your gratitude. The Sacrament of Penance consists of three parts:
Repentance, Confession, Satisfaction. The intent of Penance is
educational, disciplinary and medicinal. If you have done wrong, you can
make restitution to God, whom you have angered, by paying a certain sum
to His Agent, for a good purpose.

The Church has never given men the privilege of wronging other men by
making a payment. That is one of the calumnies set afloat by infidels
who pretend that Catholics worship images. You can, however, show
penitence, sincerity and gratitude by giving. Any one can see that this
is quite a different thing from buying an indulgence.

This gift you made was similar to the "Wehrgeld," or money compensation
made to the injured or kinsmen of those who had been slain.

By giving, you wiped out the offense, and better still you became
participant in all the prayers of tho