"In justification of my signature, in favour of the Rev. Mr. Ronge, of this place,--I certify, as an upright and conscientious man, that since the 24th March 1841, on which day Mr. Ronge presented to me the notice of his appointment as vicar, I have perceived nothing in him that could compromise him as a Catholic clergyman. Neither have I heard that he has performed his spiritual functions without reverence or dignity, or that there has been anything offensive in his dress, or the cutting of his hair. Every individual has his failings and peculiarities, of which even accusers are not free, and it is generally easy enough to injure a man, and bring him under suspicion* although no charge can be preferred against him in a moral point of view. "Grottkau, February 5,1843. "Pech, Rector." DEPARTURE FROM GROTTKAU. Soon after receipt of the Decree of Suspension, I discontinued my official duties, but remained a few days longer in Grottkau, to take the necessary steps for clearing my character from the calumnies of Kaspar Hoffmann, and Ebel the apothecary and president of the body of delegates,* who had brought their silly accusations against me under cover of the Church. By the other inhabitants of the town I was most kindly treated, and the partially evasive testimonies which were afterwards given in by a _soi-disant_ Church community of Grottkau, are only to be accounted for by the employment of Chapter influence. Various reports were, of course, in circulation, for but few were aware of the actual cause of my suspension, or of the manner in which I had been treated; and I was obliged to keep silence--to allow every report to circulate unchecked--deeply though I felt the altered looks of those I had accounted friends. But it would have been unreasonable in me to have expected of them a more thorough appreciation of the circumstances of my case, for no one knew how the slave-yoke of Rome had galled me, nor how my indignation was aroused to see my native land distracted and enthralled by a set of knavish Roman priests and their German assistants. I felt it as a joy and pride to suffer undeserved reproaches for my fellow-citizens, even for those who persecuted me, as they fancied, to the credit and in the name of the Church. I felt an assured confidence that the day of light would come, the day of emancipation from the tyranny of Rome, when my conduct should be made public, and my exculpation be complete; and I gave expression to these feelings in a few farewell words to the inhabitants of Grottkau, which I caused to be inserted in the weekly newspaper.