The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-15 00:00:00

Miscellw

News. '

The following letter, dated Rome, July 7, says:—
Before commencing a detailed account of the
Ceremonies of Saturday and Sunday, I must go back
and supply some details, wanting in my account of
preceding events. The Pope's address at the Con-
sistory, of the 26th, of which you will have had the
text last week, is said to have created so much
enthusiasm that the bishops could hardly restrain
themselves from applauding.
The First Vespers of the Feast were sung at half-
past five on Friday. On the Pope entering St.
Peter's the Chamber, which had been sitting, ac-
cording to custom, to examine the entry of various
kinds of tribute due to the Apostolic Chamber, had
to render an account to him of any tributaries which
are found wanting. On this occasion they had to
notice that Victor Emmanuel had failed to send the
gold chalice which he is bound to pay for the prin-
cipality of Masseroni and Crevecceur, alienated in
favour of one of his ancestors by Benedict XIV.
This has been left unpaid since 1858. Pius IX.
pronounced the usual protest against these defalca-
tions, and against the usurpers of the temporal
possessions of the Church.
But the special celebration of the Vigil was the
illumination of the dome of St. Peter's. As Ino
longer ago than Easter spoke of this beautiful
spectacle, I will not detain you with any descrip-
tion of it now, but only give you the benefit of a
piece of symbolism it suggested to a friend who was
looking at it with me. He said it reminded him of
a luminous tiara descended from above, and myste-
riously suspended over the shrine of the Apostles.
And in truth the form of the dome bears a striking
analogy with that of the triregno, and the illumina-
tion is so exquisite, it is much easier to believe_ it
has been let down from heaven than that it is the
work of human hands. The celebration of the
festival itself was begun by a salute of 100 guns
from the castle of St. Angelo, and the ringing of
all the bells of Rome for an hour at twelve o'clock
on Friday.
The Canonization of the Saints, however, is not
the work of a day. It is the solemn declaration of
the highest authority in the world, that certain
great and holy men have been depositories of su-
pernatural graces in an order above their fellows :
and this decision is only arrived at after the mosl
rigorous and lengthened inquisition, aided by con-
tinual and earnest prayer for the guidance of the
Holy Ghost. It is only after these long deliberations
that the Sovereign Pontiff proceeds to name a day
for the public celebration of the result. At the same
time he nominates a prelate whose duty it is to pro-
vide, together with the postulators, for all the de-
tails of the function ; he further elects a cardinal
to be the procurator of the Canonization, whose
part in the function is to stand at the foot of the
pontifical throne and implore the final sentence
from the lips of the Pope.
How the appeal of the Holy Father has been
responded to by the clergy and laity from all parts
of the world, to give effect to the solemnity of this
great occasion, you have seen in my former letters,
and when the great day arrived Rome truly repre-
sented its position of capital of the Catholic world.
Very early in the morning, while the clear blue
sky was as yet serene, and the air comparatively
fresh and cool—for the sun had not.yet put on its
strength—the streets were already rejoicing in the
appearance of a gladsome holiday. So many were
astir that I could not help doubting whether num-
bers of the picturesque peasants had ever been to
bed at all, and whether the fervour of their devo-
tion and the love of their beautiful shrine, which
brought them from their mountain homes many a
steep mile on foot, had not also kept them astir all
night. I wonder how it is, if the roads be as unsafe
as we hear men say, that no one despoiled them by
the way, of ,the massive "jewels of silver and
jewels of gold" which these peasant maidens wear
so daintily. it is an equal wonder how they manage
to appear without a soil of travel—their large white
sleeves and embroidered head-cloths refreshing one
in the midst of the heat with a thought of snow—
or a speck of dust on their bright petticoats and
many-coloured aprons. The attire of the men who
accompany them is not so spotless, but gay enough
in blue and red to help them out in diapering the
whole crowd of ordinary folk. Another diapering
it receives, too, from the habits of religious orders,
and congregations, and colleges, in a variety which
Rome only can display. Every vehicle of Rome,
too, is called into movement to-day, and the bridges
are thronged with files of them betimes.
The first external act of the function was the
starting of the procession from the left side of the
church down the straight part of the Colonnade,
and then across the piazza under an awning to the
other side, and so round to the great central door
—the procession being substantially the same as
that for Corpus Christi, consisting of representa-
tives of all the various orders of clergy, secular and
regular, seminaries, colleges, &c., &c., all bearing
lighted tapers, but, on this occasion, the banners of
the new saints, with their effigy on one side, and
some miracle of their lives on the other, were also
borne along. The distance traversed, also, is very
much shortened by the line of the .awning I have
mentioned.-
While this colossal procession was forming and
moving on its way, he who was the life and soul
of the day's mysteries was slowly descending
through the historic Loggie of the Vatican, pale and
serene, as after a night of watching and prayer.
In the Sixtine Chapel, and flowing over into
" the Regal Hall " beyond, there awaited him,
ranged according to due prescription of precedence,
the procurators-general of Religious Orders, his
private chaplains, the Avvocati Concistoriali, the
Cameriari di onore e Segreti, a number of officers
of the household, and functionaries whose titles I
forget, Uditori di Rota, the Maestro of the Sacred
Palace, &c. ; then came two chaplains, carrying,
the one his mitre, and the other the lighter tiara
which his Holiness wears in solemn functions ;
then an acolyte, swinging a censer ; and then
seven others, with seven candlesticks, and, in their
midst, an Uditore di Rota, bearing the pontifical
cross. After them, the sub-deacon and deacon,
who were to sing the Epistle and Gospel in Greek,
and an Uditore di Rota, who was to be sub-dea-
con in the High Mass ; then, the Grand Peniten-
tiaries of the Vatican Basilica, preceded by two
little boys who carried the two long rods which
typify their office, wreathed with flowers.
Next, there fell in the long file of mitred abbots,
and of all the bishops in Rome, the archbishops,
and patriarchs, and the cardinals, in their respec-
tive orders—of bishops, priests, and deacons—and,
after them, the Conservatori del Popolo Romano, the
prefects of all the Rioni, or districts of Rome, and
the Governor of Rome. Then the cardinal who
has to sing the Gospel at thej High Mass, walking
between two cardinal-deacons, and, finally, some
Roman princes, assistenti al Soglio.
The choir intoned the Ave ! Maris Stella, and the
Pope assumed his pontifical vestments—a splendid
Cope with g
elect
him th
osregdeiaouGsesmtaotrsone.,a a. n d
Them mitre, re,
cardinal andtook
ahvi e
elected to s
place in the
Canonization,offered
mentioned as breeePwraoxcurtaaptoersr
fully painted and wreathed. Two of these, which
were very large, it is the beauo f
t ti-
three
custom for him to hand
to the Roman princes named above as " in attend-
ance on the throne ;" the
third
he bore in his left
hand during the I
proces •
than the others, and, on:This one was lighter furnished with a lace a ,
f 11
to protect the hand from the d
melted wax. Thus they bore hrpping of the
.o
Scdia, lifted high in air, according
along in the
g to our ancient
rite, symbolizing the authority and vigilance of the
So •
eion Pontiff surveying and ruling
over the
whole Church, as the eyes in the white jlabelli
borne by his side further picture forth. Six pre-
lates bore a baldachino over him.
Behind the Sedia
followed other Camerieri Segreti in their
vet suits and ruffs, looking as if they
had walked
out of a picture of Vandyke's. Then a detachment
of the well-named Guardia Nubile,
and
another of
the Swiss Guard, as picturesque in costume as the
Camerieri. Then another body • of minor canons,
reinforcing the strains of their brethren,
which
are growing faint from the very length of the
procession ; and then, last of all, walk hum in um yin
their penitential garb, the Generalof 3 the Mendi-
cant Orders.
As this procession joint the other, the Chapter

zazione.

of St. Peter's come forward to receive the Pontiff i
and welcome him into the Basilica. The great
doors are thrown open, and to his sight is spread
out a spectacle never seen from the same stand-
point by any mortal eyes but his. Men of all classes
of religious thought rave of its surpassing beauty,
even as seem in their imperfecfway, in fitful vistas
through the seething crowd of men like them-
selves, but to him the whole luminous vision is un-
folded in all its perfection at once. The majestic
line of princes and servants of the Church prepares
the way before him as far as eye can reach. On
either side the kneeling multitude of the faithful,
without distinction of rank or class, but as they
will be before the Throne at the Great Day, are
bending forward to catch his benediction, fringed
by the presented arms of his volunteer fighting-
men, and lighted up by the downward-pointed
swords of the Guardia Nobile ; above, the countless
gem-like lights studding the firmament of the
Basilica, showing forth many a sacred symbol in
patterns of flame ; and the whole, as it were, radiat-
ing from and centreing in him as the general focus
• of all.

On the other hand, for the ordinary faithful, too,
is reserved a joy which is not for him. It is the
vision of the extreme sweetness and placidity of
the common Father. The encouraging sight of one
who, amid all the swerving waves of doubt, repre-
sents the perfect embodiment of the special Mes-
senger of the One Unseen—who, with utter good
faith, and therefore without a shadow of ostenta-
tion, shows you that he believes in himself, and
convinces you he is what he believes himself to be.
It is a sight by :which you may truly be said to be
entranced, or, as the beautiful Italian idiom has it,
imparadisato.
So he passes majestically down the centre of the
capacious nave. Midway a highly characteristic
incident occurs. He arrives opposite the Chapel
of the SS. Sacrament. At that moment he who has
been the culminating point of universal regard and
universal reverence bows to adore the One greater
than he. The Sedia Gestatoria is lowered, the mitre
removed, and his head bared of even the white
zucchetta, he kneels on the pavement to acknow-
ledge the Divine Presence in the Tabernacle.
This duty performed, the stately march is re-
sumed. At the foot of the steps of the High Altar
he again descends from the Sedia, and, after an
interval of private prayer, he proceeds to take his
place on the throne. Perhaps this is hardly the
occasion for criticizing, yet I cannot speak of the
said throne without observing that it is the only
thing in the church which disappoints the eye. I
do not know if there is any intention of symboliz-
ing lowliness in its proportions, but, whether or
not, it is certainly an unpretending piece of furni-
ture, to be the centre of so much magnificence and
the seat of so great might.
As soon as he was seated, the cardinals advanced
two and two ;to salute him by kissing his hand ;
the bishops (nearly 500), by kissing his knee, and
the abbots and grand penitentiaries by kissing his
foot ; after which ceremonial, all returned to their
seats ranged round the interior apse, which is
always formed for great functions with rich crim-
son drapery festooned with cords of gold, and
s termed on this occasion it Teatro della Canoniz-

Then the Cardinal-Procurator of the Canoni-
zation, accompanied by an Avvocato Concistoriale,
was led up to the throne by a master of the cere-
monies, and after the prescribed salutation, the
Avvocato, in the name of the Cardinal-Procurator,
asked the Pontiff to be pleased to inscribe in the
catalogue of the saints the twenty-five Beati pro-
posed for Canonization. The following is the form
prescribed for the purpose :

BEATISSIME PATER
Reverendissimus D. Cardinalis N. hic prmsens
instanter petit per Sanctitatem Vestram catalog°
Sanctorum D. N. J. C. adscribi, et tanquam Sane-
tos ab omnibus Christifidelibus pronunciari vene-
randos B. N.N.

To this the secretary de' Brevi a principi au
nounced in the name of his Holiness that in a
matter of such sacred import it behoved first to
apply to the Throne of Divine Grace, invoking the
intercession of the great Mother of God, the Holy
Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, that
all might be celebrated piously and holily. The
Pope then knelt at a faldstool placed at the foot
of the throne, and two cantors of the Pontifical
Chapel intoned the Litany of the Saints, all the
people joining in the ready responses with the
gushing entrain, which commanded a remark in
my hasty letter of last Saturday.
At the last Agnus Dei the Pope rose, and the
Cardinal-Procurator advanced and proffered the
same petition as before, only adding instantius to
the instanter. The prelate who responded before
again made answer that, penetrated with the
sublimity of the offie to be performed, his Holi-
ness desired that yet further supplications should
be addressed to the Holy Ghost as the source of all
light, and holiness, and sanctity. The Pope knelt
again, and a cardinal standing on his left sum-
moned us to fulfil his Holiness's injunction with
a loud Orate. All knelt in silent prayer till the
cardinal on the right pronounced the Levate, when
two bishops advanced bearing lighted tapers and
the book, whence in clear, resounding notes, the
holy Father began the Veni.Creator, after which
he knelt for the first verse of the hymn. Once
more the people took up the familiar strains and
sang their prayer to heaven as if they would
" take it by force."
At its close the Pope said the prayer proper to
the office of the Holy Ghost.
Then the Cardinal-Procurator approached the
throne for the third time, saying the same words,
with the addition this time of instantissimus. This
time the prelate was charged to make answer that
the Pope was pleased to comply, upon which the
whole assembly rose to their feet, while the So-
vereign Pontiff seated, and wearing his mitre in
token of the plenitude of his powers at last pro-
nounced the great sentence, according to the fol-
lowing formula :
"Ad honorem Sanctm et individnm Trinitatisi
ad exaltationem Fidei Catholicm, et Christiana
Religionia augment= auctoritate D. N. J. C.,
Beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli ac Nostra :
matura deliberatione prmhabita, et Divina ope
Bruins implorata, ac de venerabilium fratrum Nos-
trorum S.R.E. Cardinalium, Patriarcharum, Archie-
piscoporum et Episcoporum in Urbe existentium
consilio, Beatos N.N. Sanctos et Sanctas esse de-
cernimus, et definimus ac Sanctorum catalogo ad-
scribimus statuentes ab Ecclesia universali eorum
memoriam quolibet anno nempe Josaphat, die
duodecima Novembris ; Petri, die 17 Septembris ;
Nicolai, et sociorum ejus, die 9 Julii, inter Cunctos
Martyres ; Pauli, die 28 Aprilis ; Leonardi, die 26
Novembris inter Sanctos Confessores non Ponti-
fices ; Marim Franciscm die 6 Octobris ; Germanm,
die 15 Junii, inter Sanctas Virgines, pia devotion
recoli debere. In nomine Pa .14 tris, et Fi lii,
et Spiritus 44 Sancti. Amen."
Some minor formalities were then completed,
and the Pope, once more submitting to the removal
of his mitre, gave out the first notes of the great
Ambrosian hymn, the triumphal completion of the
most jubilant acts of the Church. It was re-
marked that in this, as on each occasion that the
Holy Father had to speak aloud, his voice, always
ringing
and majestic, was peculiarly loud, sweet,
and powerful, showing a vigour most unusual at
his acre ; the notes, too, in the musical sentences
were singularly true and clear.
As if all Rome was sensitive of her new joy, there
burst at once on the ear from one point after an-
other of the Seven Hills every festive sound which
man has devised as a token of triumph and delight.
There were the martial voices of trumpets, and.of
great guns booming through the air, and the peace-
ful chimes of the many hundred churches, led. by
the great historic toll from the Capitol, and an-
swered by the gladdest peals from those of St.
IPeter's, while all around one the very air seemed
alive with the voices of the earnest people, going
up in exultation and thanksgiving before the
Throne of God.
'Then, as if impatient to fill up the measure of
last echo
aocfn
nth, es t
aTne
dDi
negu mo
nh atc,lh
ed ireidorighted away,of
honour to the new impetrators of grace, ere the
thethe
pCar-
pe,
intoned the versicle, Orate pro nobis sancti, &c.,
and the cantors having made the due response, the
Pope pronounced the prayer proper to the comme-
moration of the new mint% Then the Cardinal-

Deacon, who was to sing the Gospel in the Mass,
'bowing low at the foot of the throne, sang the
Confiteor, adding, after the names of the Holy
Apostles Peter and Paul, those of the newly-
canonized and the Pope, in responding, also simi-
larly introduced them.
This completed the special ceremonial of the
Canonization. During the High Mass there were
again, however, special references to the newly-
canonized, and at the Offertory appropriate obla-
tions were brought with much pomp to the Pope—
being, first, immense tapers painted with effigies of
each of„the new saints, which, in the symbolic lan-
guage of the Church, are intended to picture forth
how the saints had ever before their eyes the ex-
ample of the Redeemer, the wax of the tapers
typifying His body by reason of the marvellous
subordination and unity of purpose of the bees
producing it, and the wick, by means of which
light is elicited, representing His most Holy Soul
and Divinity. Next, turtledoves, symbolizing con-
stancy, peace, and love ; then, other kinds of birds
to show forth the continual desire of the saints to
soar above this lower world, and fly away andibe
at rest. These oblations are of very ancient ob-
servance, but the birds have sometimes been
omitted. They were brought into use, however, itt
to-day's ceremony, and were fluttering about in
little gilt cages. Then there were gilt loaves of
bread and little gilt barrels of wine to typify the
Sacred Elements, the food of the saints. While
these were being presented with appropriate cere-
monies, the choirs sang for the Offertory pieces, the
"Tu es Petrus," set by Mustafa for the occasion.
It preserves much of the solemn traditional cha-
racter of the St. Peter's music, which is, I think
it must be confessed, often a little too heavy,
This intense solemnity, however, suits the tremen-
dous prophecy, " non przevalebunt," which could
scarcely be rendered more magnificently.
The Holy Father celebrated; we had, therefore,
that most delicious of earthly music, " the silver
trumpets," at the Elevation. There were twelve
assistant prelates, I should say, six patriarchs, and
six archbishops of different countries, of whom Mgr.
Manning was one. After the Gospel, the Pope,
resuming the mitre, and seated on his throne, pro-
nounced a short Latin homily. He began by expres-
sing his joy at this occasion of meeting together to
celebrate the triumph of the Prince of the Apostles,
and his companion, St. Paul. . . . " Let us re-
joice together with spiritual joy, on this day which
eor nvgeardeaeal
lt; e
sit
nth i sot
this
sabyyowtui
rioeretiht
wholeyy ; t o
forcb aeitthc ewoli
iea c-s
bi
oledd, r
wda
dthh, a
at
bhh
on this solemn day that Peter and Paul, Lumi-
naries of the Church, Chief Martyrs, Doctors of
the New Law, Friends of the Bridegroom, Eyes
of the Bride, Pastors of the Flock, Guardians of
the World, soaked above this world to the heavenly
realms, by means of glorious martyrdom.
" These are they through whom the light of the
Gospel shone upon thee, 0 Rome ! and through
them that thou, who wert the mistress of error,
becamest the disciple of Truth. It was these
holy men who, in order to transplant thee into the
Kingdom of Heaven, built thee up more nobly
than they who first laid the foundations of thy
battlements.

"These are they who so ennobled thee that thou
becamest an holy nation, a peculiar people, a city
of saints and kings, the head of the whole world,
through the Holy See of Blessed Peter, extending
thy empire far more widely with its Divine religion
than ever it was spread by earthly domination.
" These are they, who, men of mercy and peace,
your true pastors and fathers, have, together with
us, begotten you through the Gospel.
" For who was ever more glorious than Peter,
who, enlightened by Divine Grace, was the first
among men to perceive and declare the sublime
before all that Christ, his Lord, was the Son of
mystery of the Eternal Majesty, and, confessing
the Living God, placed the foundation-stone of
our belief. In return, the Son of the Eternal
Father named him the foundation-stone of His
Church, against which the gates of hell should not
prevail ; giving him the keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven, and the mission of feeding His flocks and
lambs, of confirming his brethren, and governing
the universal Church ; to which the Faith shall
never be wanting, nor to his successors, governing
it from this Cathedra of Rome.
"And who was ever more blessed than Paul?
A vessel elected by God to bear His name unto the
nations ; who was rapt into the third heaven that
he might penetrate the mysteries of Divine Truth,
and learn to be a Doctor of the Church, so that
what he had seen among the angels he might teach
among men. . . Their martyrdom, sealing their
testimony with their blood, let us celebrate,
affection, let us lay it to
heart that we, also, endeavour to emulate their
and while we venerate
blessedther
sacred brethren,ashes thism,it
with
day;
noble conduct and evangelic virtues.
" But we have also to rejoice, on this occasion,
because it has pleased God .this day, by us, to
recede the cultus and honour of His saints and un-
conquered martyrs. (Here his Holiness enume-
rated the new saints.) All these, though clothed
with the infirmities of our flesh, and, like us, pil-
grims and strangers on this earth, yet
so bore the mortification of Christ in their body,
that they were made like unto the image of the
Son of God, • • • • and now become the
friends of God, and invested with white stoles in
the Heavenly Jerusalem, they rejoice with great
joy, and are inebriated with the overflowing joys
of the House of God. And now the Lord makes
His face to shine upon them, and they are rapt
with the torrents of His delights, shining like the
sun in the kingdom of their Father, their temples
girt with crowns, in token of their eternal reign
with Christ in glory. Secure of their own salvation,
they now intercede with Him for ours.
The most perfect order reigned throughout,
though it was calculated there must have been over
100,000 persons present. Two of the west doors
were kept for entering and two for leaving by, so
that an immense deal of ordinary crushing was
prevented. There were in the apse 546 cardinals,
patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops.
The King of Naples and all the members of his
family in Rome, the Infanta Donna Isabella of
Portugal, the corps diplomatique, and the princes
of various noble Roman families and illustrious
foreigners, were in their several palchi.
At the moment the procession was making its
way in, a poor mad fellow, one Achilli Rossi, who,
probably, lost his senses in the distress suffered in
Naples before he sought refuge in Rome,
was kneeling before the altar of the Blessed
Sacrament, when, as if exalte by the too
great beauty of the place, he was observed to
start from his knees, exclaiming—after this he must
see Paradise, and with that he stabbed himself
thrice in the throat with one of the long-pointed
clasp knives Italian peasants wear. There are
various theories respecting the motive of the act.
Some thought it was he who had set fire to the
draperies, occasioning the little alarm I mentioned
last week, and that this was an act of the remorse
of Judas. lam assured, however, by one who was
near the Pope at the time, that news of the act was
brought to his Holiness before the fire burst out.
Again, it has been rumoured that he was a second
emissary of a secret society, hired to fire the
draperies at another point, and, in the frenzy of the
moment, preferred sacrificing himself to fulfilling
the hideous undertaking. Two gendarmi carried
him to the hospital, where it was thought he might
recover. The Giornale di Roma subsequently an-
nounced that a medical commission had declared

him insane.
In the evening the people were regaled with
the Girandola, which. is acknowledged to be the
most artistic display of fireworks in Europe. One
of its most striking features
is a system of wires
running round the vast piazza, and traversing it
in every direction. The fireworks dart along these
wires, whizzing wildly over the heads of the people,
and finally set light to a number of lamps placed
b,t intervals round the piazza.
Sunday was appointed for the commemoration
at St. Paul's. Starting at eight, we were soon
I wedged into a crush of carriages ;
for some, I hear,
had started four hours earlier, and we only-barely
escaped being Stopped, as hundreds of carriages
I were, on this 'side of the gate, till the Holy Father

had gone through. There is a bend in the road
as it approaches the Porta Ostiense—or St. Paul's
Gate, as it is generallycalled—and another opening
had been made in the wall to give the Holy Father
a more direct line of route ; the whole road was laid
with yellow sand. Hundreds, not to say thousands,
must have been disappointed for when we arrived
the church was already crowded, and we had left
multitudes behind us on the road ; the mere
approach, however, was worth coming out to see as
an exhibition of popular feeling.
The only thing one has ever felt wanting in the
noble Basilica of San Paolo is use. Its gorgeous
assemblage of the rarest marbles, the grand lines
of its architecture, and the glorious show of pre-
cious mosaics, attest that the power which raised
the mediaeval fanes is yet alive and vigorous as
ever, even in this nineteenth century ; but it &s
seldom we have to attend there those great popular
devotions which make all the other churches of
Rome feel so homely.
The Ostiensian Basilica dates from the earliest
epoch of Christianity. St. Anacletus, second from
St. Peter, consecrated an oratory and cemetery on
this spot, where the body of St. Paul had been
buried. Constantine, at the instance of St. Syl-
vester substituted for it a basilica, consecrated in
324. From that time the half of the bodies of SS.
Peter and Paul have been preserved within it, the
remaining halves being at St. Peter's, and the heads
at St. John Lateran. Succeeding Emperors and
Popes delighted to have a part in enlarging and
adorning its fair proportions, and it would take
a volume to tell its history and describe its former
beauties. On the 13th of July, '1823, however,
it fell victim to a terrible catastrophe. A fire, of
which I do not at this moment remember to have
heard the origin, broke out in the roof, which was
of most curious sculptured wood, some of the beams
having been brought from the cedars of Libanus.
The roofing burnt with surprising rapidity, and
fell in, bearing with it part of the walls, and
buzying in the flaming mass many splendid rem-
nants of antiquity. The mosaic portraits of the
Popes were destroyed, and so fierce was the heat
of the fire that the immense columns supporting
the great arch of the tribune, 16 feet in circum-
ference and 45 feet high, were split from top to
bottom ; the huge splinters were long shown as
objects of curiosity to visitors. It is noteworthy
that at this time all the spaces allotted to the por-
traits of the Popes were filled up, with the excep-
tion of one shortly to have been occupied by that
of Pius VII., who died about a month later ; there
was none for his successors! Pius VII., who had
professed, the rule of St. Benedict, was very fond of
the Benedictine Church of S. Paolo, and no onehad
the heart to tell him of the calamity in those last
days of declining health.
One of the first cares of Leo XII. was to repair
the disaster. Under advice of the Academy of St.
Luke, he appointed Pasquale Belli, who, at his
death, was succeeded by Professor Poletti, director
of the works, and Bisio and Camporese, architects.
During his reign, and that of his successors, the
great fabric has been gradually growing up, aided
by the offerings of the Benedictine Order through-
out the world, of many princes and bishops in every
cauntry, and largely subsidized by the Pontifical
exchequer, into one of the most magnificent build-
ings of the world.
The nave is flanked by double aisles on each side,
which bring into use a perfect forest of some eighty
massive granite monolithic columns, brought from
Monte Orfano, near the Lago Maggiore, their
Corinthian capitals and bases being of white Carrara
marble. The tondi or circles, containing the por-
traits of the Popes, are in the member above, where
would be the triforium "of a Gothic church,
these are being worked up on in the atelier of mo-
saics in the Vatican. Each takes an artist about
a year, and with the number of artists at present
at work, it will take about nine years more to
bring the series down to Pius LX. Every inch
of the walls is encrusted with fine marble, and the
inlaid pavement is so highly polished they reflect
the pillars as though they stood in a lake.
The gem of the whole building is, of course, the
High Altar, with its baldachino and Confession
containing the sacred bodies of the Apostles. The
design does not quite harmonize with that of the
rest of the building. In richness of material, how-
ever, it is probably unsurpassable. The four
monolithic columns of golden-hued Oriental ala-
baster, were presented by Mehemed AR to Gregory
XVI. ; the brilliant malachite and lapis lazuli
which form the plinths, by the Emperor of Russia.
The elaborately-chased gates to the confession, the
eighty pomegranate branches, supporting lamps
which burn perpetually around the shrine, are of
or-molu on silver. Cost seems to have been ut-
terly disregarded in the production, and such
lavish expenditure, for such a purpose, at such a
date, cannot but arrest one's attention.
The special decorations for the festa I have
already described in my letter of the week before
last. One reason of their succeeding so
well
may
probably be found in the fact that they were supe-
rintended by Commendatore Poletti himself. The
church looked very beautiful lighted up. The
polished walls and pillars, reflecting the ten thou-
sand lights, seemed as though they had been made
diaphanous by enchantment. Everybody seemed
to think the effect more beautiful even than St.
Peter's, though I cannot say I shared this opinion.
Several temporary altars had to be prepared to
accommodate the numbers of priests desirous of
saying Mass there. I heard that the Pope accorded
a special permission to allow their Masses to go
on from two a.m. to two p.m.
The High Mass began about ten, and was sung
by Mgr. Ballerini, Patriarch of Antioch, in parti-
bus, and there were even more prelates present than
at St. Peter's, as some who had been detained by the
way arrived later. The Pope afterwards admitted
a good many private individuals to kiss his hand in
the sacristy.
The whole way was lined with festal decorations
—not a house without its bright cloths and gar-
lands floating in the breeze, for we had a slight
refreshing breeze that day. Some went in for
more elaborate ornaments, and as we drove back
one had leisure for observing many
taste which had escaped the eye i exhibitions of
n the way out.
The Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, under Sta.
Sabina on the Aventine, had hung out' shields, on
which were written, in floral letters, various titles
of the Popes taken from the father' s as t, Hmres
Apostolorum,"
" Rex Incomparabilis," Primatu
Abel," &c.
On Monday morning the Pope was to have said
Mass at San Pietro, in Montorio, but there was
so many audiences to be given that it was put
off to some later day this week, and then he went
there almost privately. San Pietro in Montorio is
situated on the steep incline of the Janiculum, and
for some weeks past workmen have been employed
in making the approach as easy as the position
admits. The original church was a very ancient
structure, but was suffered to fall utterly into ruin ;
it was restored in 1473, in favour of the Osser-
vanti of St. Francis, by Ferdinand and Isabella
of Spain. Philip 111, in 1605, added the piazza
and terrace in front, and the fountain and walls
round the top of the hill, whence one of the finest
panoramic views of Rome is obtained. The arms
of Spain are still to be seen on the balustrade.
It was for this church that Raphael's great picture
of the Transfiguration was painted. Beatrice Cenci
is buried before the High Altar, but without any
epitaph.
The chapel in which the Pope said Mass is a very
elegant little circular structure, usually called
Bramante's Temple, as it was built by him in
1502, by order of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the
court of the convent, over the exact spot marked
out by tradition as that in which the cross of St.
Peter's martyrdom was fixed.. It is surrounded
exteriorly by a colon- lade of sixteen slight granite
columns, and surmounted by a cupola. Inside is a
life-sized marble statue of St. Peter, which recalls
the bronze one of the Vatican. Below is a sort of
semi-crypt, in the centre of which is the hole I
have named; a lamp, always burning, is hung a
little way down. - It will scarcely hold a dozen
people.
In the afternoon the Pope gave audience to all
the bishops, and received their address. His reply
was short, ,but feeling. It acknowledged and
praised their concord, their devotion to the Hoy

See, and their apostolic zeal ; and announced that
the Council would take place on the feast of the
Immaculate Conception, though without specifying
the year. But neither he nor the bishops made
any political allusion.
Later in the day he received the deputation of
1,500 Italians, from the " hundred cities of Italy,"
to present an address of devotion to his person,
together with the offerings which have been col-
lecting for some months past at the office of the
Unita Cattolica, in Turin, amounting, I hear, to
about a million of francs, and comprising, besides,
a number of interesting and valuable objects. The
Holy Father was almost unable to control his
feelings.
To this address the Holy Father replied nearly
in these words :
" On this ancient wall the archangel is repre-
sented putting up the sword in the scabbard. It
was in this manner, on this very day, that he an-
nounced in former times the cessation of the
plague. I seem to see him now put back the sword
in its scabbard, in obedience to the Divtne decrees,
for to-day commences the hour of mercy.
" At the commencement of this century—on this
very day—hostile troops invaded this city, and one
of my predecessors had to hide himself, and go in
exile, persecuted by enemies like to those who de-
sire now to snatch from our hearts our holy faith,
under the pretext of securing the happiness of their

country.
" Later—again on this day, since the first Ves
pers of the 2nd of July had commenced —an army
of liberation entered this Holy City, to disperse
the enemies of God and His Church, who aimed at
abolishing in this Holy City—the centre of Catho-
lic Faith—the reign of Jesus Christ. They said
that this day was fatal to Rome ; but I say
that the hour of its triumph has commenced. They
have said that I hated Italy. No ! I never was
its enemy. I have always lovea. it. I have blessed
it. I have desired its happiness. God knows how
often I have shed tears—how often I have prayed
—how often I pray for it.
" Let us pray for this nation, so unhappy at this
moment. Let us pray that those who govern it
may be enlightened. They have desired to found
its unity, but how can unity be begotten of self-
love ? It is not blessed, this unity, which destroys
charity and justice—which tramples under foot the
rights of all—of the ministers of God and of the
truly faithful.
J‘ Their enemies multiply around them ; they
have as enemies all the world—all are against them.
What is far more terrible, their great enemy will
always be God. The hour is come—the triumph
cannot fail. It would be better if they were
spared, but if it be necessary, they will feel the
stroke of Divine justice. lam touched by these
demonstrations of .affection—by these sentiments
which you have expressed to me in your name and
in the name of the hundred cities of Italy. The
majority is truly with you, it is that which fills me
with consolation, with love, with gratitude.
"I bless the signataries qnd their families. I
grant to you and to your families a special bene-
diction, and if any of yours go astray—if father,
son, or brother, seduced_ by false opinions, is led
to the ways of error, may this benediction lead
him back into the right path. May this benedic-
tion accompany you everywhere ; may it follow
you in the voyage which you are about to under-
take to return to your homes ; may it accompany
you to the last day, and if at the end of your life
you be forsaken by all, may this benediction never
forsake you. The memory of this day will give
you strength, serenity, and peace.
"I bless this land—fertile mother of so many
saints--which has given to the Church and to
Heaven so many heroes of righteousness and of
sanctity. I pray God that it may preserve the
ancient faith, which constitutes the highest title
of its glory. I bless you anew—you and your
families. May the benediction which I give you
in the name of God be to you a pledge of happi-
ness, so that we may attain to that blessed eternity
in which we may praise and thank God for ever
and for ever. Pax et benedicti Deo."
His emotion communicated itself to those around,
and frequent bursts of feeling broke from them,
At the close of his remarks there was a loud and
united shout of " EVviva! it Papa Re !"
Yesterday the Pope paid a State visit to San
Pietro, in Montorio, in the evening. The new road
up to it is very broad, and makes a grand ap-
proach. This, as well as the Ponte Sisto, were
illuminated, as was the facade of the Church, form-
ing a singularly striking object from many points
of Rome. Fireworks were discharged from the
terrace in front. The crowd was so great that it
was found necessary to stop carriages from going
up.

Of all the various kinds of demonstrations a
sympathy he has received, this spontaneous effu-
sion of feeling on the part of the Italians them-
selves was the one calculated to move him most.
Great as is the number of bishops here, one
hears every day of instances which show how
much larger it might have been as far as the will
of the Episcopate is concerned. Thus the bishops
of Vercelli, Tortona, and Lodi were only prevented
attending by their extreme age. • The Archbishop
of Novara and the Bishop of Ivrea only stayed
away with extreme regret, thinking the duty
of remaining in the midist of their dioceses
while a prey to the ravages of cholera par-
amount over every other. Several have
already left; for many, and_especially the English,
have suffered severely from the heat. The majo-
rity, however, will stay on for the beatification of
the 205 Japanese martyrs to-morrow at St. Peter's.
The decorations will apparently be much the same
as for the Canonization. All those of the nave
were still up yesterday, though they had begun to
strip the transepts.
To-day (Octave of St. Peter), the Pope went to
attend what is only, usually, a cappella of cardinals
at St. John Lateran, so you see, in spite of the
weather, he hag not spared himself.
Some cuzious anecdotes are afloat of various
foolish attempts made by emissaries of the revo-
lution to diminish the number of ecclesiastics join-
ing in the demonstration, or, at least, to lcreate a
panic in their hosts. Thus, one day at Florence,
as a train full of pilgrims was preparing to start
for Rome, an individual presented himself at the
carriage doors, and in a tone of the greatest appa-
rent devotion, exclaimed, "Reverendi! The cholera
is raging in Rome. Be advised—don't risk your
precious lives and add to the crowds even now en-
dangering public health !" A bishop present, acting
as spokesman for the rest, determined to give as
good as he got, answered, with a smile, " Yes,
indeed, we know all about it, and it is just the
reason why we reckon it obligatory to proceed on
our way in all haste, that we may be in time to
offer our ministrations to the poor Romans, as all
their own pastors must have succumbed by this
time." This sort of thing was repeatedly tried.
Thus, another day at Ancona, an individual came
on to a crowded railway platform witha telegraphic
despatch in his hand declaring that the Pope was
dead. But he only received for answer that it
formed an additional reason for proceeding " that
we may unite our prayers over his bier."
There is no doubt the whole occasion has made
the profoundest impression on the Revolutionary
party. The Corriere della Venezia, one of their
organs, writes thus :
"The Catholic Exhibition of Rome ought to be
compared with the Universal Exhibition of Paris.
" The Catholic Exhibition of Rome presents a
great lesson for all civilized people, and especially
for Italians, which it would be puerile and suicidal
to ignore. It proves, in the plainest way (and
what is the use of attempting to conceal facts ?),
how great is the strength of the Catholic party,
which, as it pervades the whole world, so through
the whole world it disseminates its teaching.
" All those who, possessed by the idea of our
recent triumphs, have let themselves imagine that
the power of the Popes was waning, and that the
voice which emanates from the Vatican could not
make itself heard beyond the Seven Hills, should
seriously consider the great spectacle which Rome
offers at this moment to the whole world. The
too great influence still in dwelling the word of a
Pope is a matter worthy of their most serious
meditation."
ortant
I regret that amia the mom 01 more imp