The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-26 00:00:00

GRAND CEREMONIAL AT ROME.

ROME, Dec. 13.—1 n this most insouciant of cities the
postal authorities think nothing of shutting up the
poet-office on extraordinary occasions, without so much
as putting a notice in the official paper the day before. I
fear that my letter of tho 10th, containing a description
of Vie Pope's proceedings in St. Peter's on the Bth may
thus have been delayed by the absence of the whole post-
office staff on the morning when the sea-mail is usually
made up. They were doubtless attending the grand
ceio nony of the consecration of St. Paul's extra mums,
within. I aceordingly followed them, and found that
the Pope, with 49 Cardinals, and 140 Archbishops and
Bishops, was still inside the church, engaged in the
mysterious formula of consecrating the various altars,
with the customary and somewhat Pagan rites of fire,
water, oil, salt, ashes, &c. His Holiness had chosen
for his immediate assistants in these ceremonies Carchs
nals Falconieri, Archbishop of Ravenna ; Sterckz,
Archbishop of Malines ; De Donald, Archbishop of
Lyons ; Schwarzenberg, Archbishop of Prague ; Di
Cavalho, Patriarch of Lisbon ; Bonel-y-Orbe, Arch-
bishop of Toledo ; Mathieu, Archbishop of Besancon ;
Gousset, Archbishop of Rheims ; Wiseman, Archbishop
of Westminster ; and Scitowsky, Primate of Hungary.
Cardinal Wiseman with two others walked processionally
round the outside walls of the church sprinkling them with
holy water and reciting the prescribed invocations, whilst
his Holiness, seated on a throne prepared for him in the
portico, read a homily expressive of his own and the
general exultation at the consecration of so magnificent
a temple.
Never does Pio None appear to be so thoroughly
happy as when in the midst of these grand ecclesiastical
performances, and had he been fortunate enough to have
lived in the earlier ages of the church, before the weight
of temporal cares had turned the occupants of St. Peter's
chair from thuZsincere contemplation of religious sub- '
jests, his devotional zeal and benevolent character would
certainly have procured him the reputation of being a
saint.
The public, not being admitted to the church during
the consecration, waited outside with exemplary patience
from eight in the morning until noon, when the doors
were thrown open, and his Holiness, surrounded by the'
Sacred College, prelacy and corps diplomatique, appeared
in the transept, whilst a bishop, attended by a detach.
ment of Swiss guards, -stood in the act of adoration be-
fore each of the temporary chapels erected along the
aisles. The Cardinal Archbishop of Naples wound up
the ceremonies by saying mass before the court, after
which the Pope headed the procession out of the church,
and the scarlet and gold equipages got once more under
weigh for the city, followed through the rain by crowds
of wet and weary sight-seers.
It is expected that the greater part of the foreign
pro'ates will leave Rome almost immediately, in
order to be at their respective dioceses bee Christmas. On
the morning following/the great ceremony at St. Peter's,
the 9th inst., his Holiness held a consistory at the
Vatican, which was attended by the cardinals, arch-
bishops, and bishops, who had come to Rome purposely
to assist at the solemnity of the immaculate conception.
Pio Nono harangued the assembled prelates, thanking
them for the readiness they had displayed in repairing
to the chair of Sr. Peter, and exhorting them to fulfil
zealously the duties of their pastoral ministry.
Cardinal de Donald, Archbishop of Lyons, replied, in
the name of his venerable brethren, that the whole epis-
copacy revered the oracles o! the " holy father," and
that every individual would endeavour to the utmost to
fulfil his holy wishes.
Finally, his Holiness ordered every cardinal, arch-
bishop,
and bishop to be presented with a picture of the
conception, and a medal of Australian gold, bearing on
the obverse the figure of the Virgin, and on the reverse
the following inscription :—" Deiparae Virgini sine labe
conceptm Pius IX. Pont. Max. ex euri Australim
primitiis sibi oblatis cudi jussit VI. Id. Dec.
MDCCCLIV."

A body of academicians, distinguished by the title
of the Immaculate Conception, hold a solemn meeting
on the 11th inst. in the church of the Holy Apostles,
to commemorate the Pope's decision on that knotty
point of doctrine. Dissertations, odes, and sonnets were
read or recited in all the languages of Europe, and the
polyglot entertainment wound up by a symphony and
cantata expressly composed for the occasion by the cele-
brated Maestro Paciai, whose style of music, together
with the lights, drapery, and crowded audience, reminded
one very strongly of the opera.
In fact the various ceremonies, rejoicings, declama-
tions, and publications to which the Pope's bull have
given rise would require too long a description for the
limits of my letter. The official paper itself has indulged
in the luxury of an extra sheet, printed with blue ink,
and the Pope's decree in scarlet, to commemorate the
proceedings of the Bth inst., and an English M.P.,
George Bowyer, Esq., has translated for the benefit of
his countrymen, and printed in English at the Propa-
ganda Press, iather Costa's pamphlet on the Immacu-
late Conception, with a preface of his own, especially
recommended to:the attention of Protestant readers.
The principal subject of temporal interest here is the
anomalous condition of the State bank, no one being
able to make out whether the Government intends its
paper to be rendered legal tender or not. The Govern-
ment pays and receives the bank paper, and nothing else
is seen in commercial transactions; but there is as yet
no explicit decree as b whether the Government's
guaranteeing it is equivalent to rendering it forced cur-
rency'.

His Holiness has announced his intention of granting
land for building to persons wishing to settle at Porto
d'Anzio, subject to a mall ground rent to the Govern-
ment.

DARING BURGLARY IN BIRMINGHAM".

A. daring attempt at burglary was made at the Bell
Inn, Bristol-road Birmingham, about two o'clock on
Sunday morning. The landlord (Mr. Reynolds) went to
bed at an early hour on Saturday night, when he was
disturbed by sounds which induced him to think
that some person was attempting to break ilito
the house. He consequently armed himself with a
revolver pistol, descended the staircatte, and sud-
denly unbolting the back door, hs heard some person
jump to the ground and run a'ong the stable-yard.
Mr. Reynolds called upon him to stop, or he would
shoot him. The burglar—for such he proved to be—re-
doubled his speed, and Mr. Reynolds fired but missed
him. He fired a second time with no better result, but
theithird shot took effect in the head, and•the robber,
closing on his ;assailant, a fearful struggle ensued.
Mr. Reynolds was, however, the successful cony
batant, fur although much injured
and exhausted,
he succeeded in securing the prisoner until a police-
man, attracted by the reports of the pistol, arrived
on the premises- The prisoner turned out to be a
notorious character named Charles Davies, who had
on two previous occasions broken into Mr.
nolds' premises, and been once sentenced to
transportation for a burglary at Walsall. He was found
to be severely injured by shots received in the head, and
was conveyed to the Queen's hospital. Mr. Reynolds,
in consequence of bruises in the face, and being once
knocked down and rolled in the gutter, presented also a
frightful appearance. The burglar had broken through
thelbar window, and removed several tiles from the roof
of the pent-house. A quantity of lucifer matches were
found near the window. There can be no doubt that the
burglar would speedily have been successful had not Mr.
e Yl_l9lclg tieeu
woke by the barb 9f the dog.