The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-12 00:00:00

ROME.

A letter from Rome, in the Union, says :—" I
have recently witnessed the celebration of a reli-
gious festival which the Romans all observe with
peculiar fervour. I allude to the feast of St. Peter
in Vinculis, during which the chains that fettered
St. Peter in his dungeon at Jerusalem and Rome
are exposed for a week to the veneration of the
faithful. It is well known that, by divine permis-
sion, and in order to remove the doubts which had
risen in certain minds, the two chains used to bind
St. Peter at Jerusalem and Rome clung together
when brought into contact, and became so closely
joined that it is now impossible to tell where one
ends and the other begins. These chains are pre-
served in the Church of St. Peter in Vinculis,
built A.D. 442, by the Empress Eudoxia, wife of
Valentine 111., Emperor of the West. This
princess presented to Pope Leo the chain with
which Peter was bound by Herod's command in
the prisons of Jerusalem, having herself received
it as a gift from Juvenal, the patriarch of that
city. This church was rebuilt in the XVlth cen-
tury, and modified in the XVIIth; it contains the
magnificent statue of Moses, by Michael Angelo,
and many admirable paintings by Guercino, Dome-
nichino, Guido, and Giulio Romano. During the
week the church was crowded with people all the
more anxious to kiss the chains sanctified by the
suffrings of the Prince of the Apostles as these
venerable relics are only exposed at this festival,
and cannot 139 seen at another time without an ex-
press permission from the Pope. The Holy Father
attended by several prelates attached to his house-.
hold, came to the church to join in the prayers of
the faithful and venerate these precious chains,
which bound the first pastor of the Church, whose
seat he at present fills."

A Frankfort letter of the 9th says :

"Yesterday the civil and military authorities
took several measures to prevent a recurrence of
the military riots. Strong patrols paraded the
town ; posts of gendarmes were established; the
gates were closed, and the soldiers were forbid-
den to approach certain points of the public pro-
menades; but the only efficacious means—to con-
fine the soldiers to barracks and disarm them—
were not taken. The consequence was that some
sanguinary encounter occurred in several places.
The worst were at the Bolkenheim gate and A]l

Saints' gate. This last the Prussians took by
storm several times, and when a strong mixed
patrol came against them with fixed bayonets they
defended themselves, and the commander of the
patrol, a Frankforter, was mortally wounded. It
is said that certain civilians have instigated the
soldiers, and several persons have been arrested on
the charge. . This morning, the Austrians and Ba-
varians have been quarrelling. It is difficult to
get at the truth, because public report exaggerates
everything, and it is not safe to go and see for
one's self, as the soldiers are walking the streets
sword in hand. We hear that two men have been
killed, and there are from 20 to 30 wounded in the
hospitals."

The Madrid Gazette of the 7th publishes a Royal
decree charging the Count de Lucena (O'Donnell),
President of the Council, with the ad interim ad-
ministration of the department of Foreign Affairs,
in the absence of M. Calderon Collantes, who has
gone into the country. The Iberia had been seized.
Some of the journals express a hope that the malady
which has broken out at Murcia, and which has
been stated to be Asiatic cholera, will turn out to
be of infinitely less gravity. The semi-official
Correspondancia Autografa says the Government
has authorised the Governor of Fernando Po to
permit the steamers of the North American station
to have a depot of coal in the island.

A Berlin letter in the German Journal of Frank-
fort says :—" The Prussian Government has decided
positively on assuming the initiative in the question
of fortifying the coasts of the North Sea. She in-
tends to present a proposition to that effect to the
Germanic Diet, and she relies the more on, the
assent of Austria, and the other State of Southern
Germany, that her own share of the expense for
the Southern fortresses is very considerable. If,
however, any difficulties should he thrown in the
way of this measure, it is hoped that the Prussian
Government will know how to accomplish her ob-
ject in spite of the Germanic Diet."