The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 27, 1868.

ROMAN AFFAIRS.

ROME, January 18th.
The representative ceremonies of the Epi-
phany
.in the various churches are too multi-
farious to be detailed in one letter. The most

primitive are those of the Ara Cceli, that mys-
terious dedication which speaks of the strangest
aspiration of the old philosophy after the teach-
ing of the new. It is impossible now to dis-
tinguish which is true among the various
legends of the occurrences which induced
Augustus to dedicate an altar to Gods First-
Born on the spot over which it was subse-
quently built. That which ascribes it to his
regard for the oracle,
Me Puer Hebraeus Divos Deus ipse gubernaus
Cedere Bede jubet, tristemque redire sub orcum.
Aris ergo dehin tacitus abscedito nostris."

has been sufficiently often repeated for its terms

to have become household words, and thus,

to the present day in Italy (whence it has also
passed into Spain), " I will give you to
Orco ' is as common a means of frightening
a crying child into silence as " I will give you
to old Boguy " among us.
Another, which tells us that Augustus, hav-
ing consulted the Sibyl of Tivoli as to whether
he might allow the people to pay him divine
honours as conqueror of the world, after three
days' fast was shown by her the heavens
opened, and in the midst an altar, over which
a Child in the arms of a beautiful Virgin, the
stars making a crown of light round them,
while in the ears of the entranced Emperor
there resounded the words, " Haec ara Filii
Dei est," is commemorated in the antiphon
sung after Compline in the Ara Cceli.
" Stellato hic in circulo,
Sybilla tune oraculo
Te vidit Rex in Cido."

This popular tradition also received another
commemoration in an ancient marble altar
frontal of this church, at one end of which
Augustus, wearing his imperial crown, is re-
presented kneeling before the Blessed Virgin,
who stands at the other end with the Divine
Infant in her arms. Likewise in the presepio
(the representation of the Crib of Bethlehem,
which most churches, and private houses, too,
put up at this season) of the Ara Co3li figures
of the Sibyl and Augustus used to kneel in
the foreground, and symbolize the subjec-
tion of the Pagan to the Christian regime of I
Rome. For a year or twon pastct this significant
representation has bn e
it
In all other particulars platted.
was
as elaborate
this year as oYery other, and the mazy effects
of lights and clouds and heavenly hosts de-
lighted the infant visitors as usual. Among
the pictures, flowers, and fruit lay the oranges
from the Convent garden, which it is the
yearly custom for the good Frati to bring
round to those whose offerings. they come to
seek. The life-sized shepherds kept watch
through the octave of the Nativity, and then
day by day of their three days star-led jour-
ney the wise men appeared, journeying on over
the mountains, in the distant recesses of the
scenic chapel, till ultimately, on the Epiphany,
they take their place in the foreground, and lay
their offerings before the young Child and His
mother. But the figure of that young child itself
is the wonder of the place. It was carved by
a saintly Zoccolante or Wooden-sandalled Brother
in Jerusalem, out of an olive tree from the
sacred Garden of Gethsemane. Various won-
ders attended the manner of its completion and
its journey to Rome, and the veneration it
received on its first arrival seems never to
have cooled. It is literally covered with the
jewels offered to it chiefly on occasion of re-
coveries from illness, when its visit to the house
of the sick person has been sought.
After the Gospel in the third Mass on Christ-
mas Day, it is brought out from its little chapel
in the sacristy, and placed in the presepio already
prepared to receive it, and there it remains all
through this season, only hidden on the Feast
of Holy Innocents, in memory of the flight
from Herod. Opposite the presepio an estrade
is raised, from which the praises and perfec-
tions of the Divine Bambino are spoken " out
of the mouths of babes." I believe seven years
is the age which must not be exceeded by
n fa
inaftnetri n
re
procession,
epsrpeearcsh e rat sn.ids Tefianhr
ilnleydo
rne thestroundo r e Ed
tpht
to
thesecphhr
uanzhi,
itstaacsctusmtoomnedadyshowedreceptacle.
the Romans had lost
none of their affection for the popular custom
of being present at its deposition. While the
Franciscan brothers were yet singing their
Vespers, the church and all its approaches
were already thronged. The semi-military uni-
form of the volunteer firemen hardly enabled
them to enforce the necessity of
°t leaving
the ng room
for t procession.he
of
pre-
sepioThe at the Magnificat is, indeed, one part
principaladjunct in
the ceremonyen which they
come out to see. The Franciscans
organ and some excellent voices, have a fine
s' and no one
seemed tired of listening to them,sun had sunk fax below the levelo a tuhyow gnhdtohwe
in the church, and the proportions of the
wAetrleasbte '
myanicniendtarbkuineldinss. g
gloo
the Chanting
ng to be
shrouded
ceased, and the band struck up the
march which
measures the steps of the procession. Then
the great western doors
of the church being
thrown open, there poured
in the gorgeous
rays of the setting sun reflected
the helmets and instruments fback from
and the gilding of that roof o the
PrnnPieri
which was made
so gorgeous to celebrate the victory of
Lepanto,
like a festal illumination to
light. the Infant
King as he is laid to his rest. The whole Capi-
toline mount swarmed like a. gigantic anthill,
bending in attitudes of devotion before the
venerable effigy of the Saviour in His lowliness
as it was brought out from
the summit of those
proud steps, to pour out His benedictions on
the meek and lowly of heart.
Having spoken of one of the oldest Epi-
phany celebrations, I may say a few words
about one of the most modern. Not
many
ago a Roman priest, Vincenzo
years
Pallotti,. by
name, instituted a pious society of missions,
its members consisting not only of those who
I give themselves up to the
ecclesiastical state,
I but also comprising a sodality of persons living
1 in the world who help- the work of the mis-
sions by prayers or alms, or in any other man-
ner. The congregation has for general use a
very small church on the left bank of the Tiber,
but at the Epiphany season
it has. the use of
the noble church of St. Andrea della Valle,
which is festively draped and decorated for
the occasion, the whole east end of the nave
j being occupied by a presepio, with its attendant
magi, and lighted by the Star of Bethlehem.
I Every day during the octave, from five in the
morning till the evening Ave, there is hardly
any cessation of the pious work. First there
is Mass according to the Latin . •
right, with
sermon in Italian, and Benediction. This is
succeeded by a High Mass. Then follows
Mass, said according to the rites of various
Oriental communities in union with Rome ;
then a sermon every day in a different Euro-
pean language. Then Exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament, Rosary, Meditation, and Benedic-
tion, given by a Cardinal. Later in the even-
ing preachers go out attended by Confrater-
nity men—their black habits leaving only their
eyes uncovered—bearing crucifixes and lamps,
and taking up their stand in some piazza or
carrefour, speak the word of God in the high-
way. Men are arrested by the sound as they
lounge or hurry by, and most stay till the few
fervent words are concluded, and follow the
missioner back to the church, where Rosary,
Instruction, and Benediction close the day.
If I had time I would speak of another in-
teresting commemoration—that of the return
of the Holy Family from Egypt, which is kept
here on the 7th of January ; but I must leave
this now for another year.
From the Epiphany to to-day, the feast of
St. Peter's Chair in Rome, there is a lull in
the functions which derive their lustre from the
presence of the Pope. In the interim we have
only the more popular festival of St. Antony's
octave, which began yesterday with the usual
blessing of animals brought for the purpose
to his church near Sta. Maria Maggiore. To-
day is also a festa at one of the most interest-
Ang churches of Rome, that of St. Prisoa, It

occupies a spot on the western slope of the
Aventine, which tradition assigns to the house
of SS. Priscilla and Aquila, the first where

St. Peter stayed in Rome. It may, therefore, be
considered to have sheltered the nucleus of
the first Christian congregation of the Eternal

City. It was at a later period he occupied
that of St. Pudentius. The vessel out of which

he performed many baptisms is preserved with
great veneration in a crypt under the church ;
it has something of the form of the capital of
a pillar, richly sculptured and set on a modern
pedestal. In more ancient times there had been
a temple of Diana in the groves which clothed
the hill-side, and possibly some remains of
this found in the saint's garden may have been
dug out and preserved as a work of art, just
as happens every day now, and the cherished
ornament, probably the choicest the house
afforded, was naturally offered to the apostle
for the use of his sublime ministry.
The St. Prisca, in whose honour the church
is dedicated, suffered martyrdom under Clau-
dius 11. in 275, and her remains were con-
cealed from the faithful. St. Entichianus, the
Pope at the time, having learnt their hiding
place in a dream, went out attended by his
clergy and many. of the faithful, and, having
recovered them, interred them in this sanc-
tuary. St. Priscilla, mentioned by St. Paul
both in his Epistles to the Romans and in that
to the Corinthians (for she and her husband,
St. Aquila, when driven out of Rome by the
persecution under the first Claudius, took up
their abode in Corinth), is called Prisca in one
of those to St. Timothy, and from these cir-
cirm stances the two saints have often been
confounded in the guide books. This is one
of the earliest churches chosen as titular for a
cardinal, there being mention of a cardinal
priest of SS. Prisca and Priscilla as present at
the second Roman Council. It now gives the
title to Cardinal Puente, Archbishop of Cam-
postella.
There is already much speculation and in-
quiry as to whois to be invested with the
purple on the 17th of March. The names I
gave you last week are those chiefly canvassed.
It is said if Mgr. Bonaparte is one (and there
seems little doubt of it) he will not be nomi-
nated to any French diocese, but will reside in
Rome as one of those cardinals who more im-
mediately compose the Court of the Sovereign
Pontiff. The next in order of probability is
Mgr. Borromeo-Arese, major-domo of the Pope.
He is a descendant of a brother of St. Charles.
Then Mgr. Berardi, Under Secretary of State ;
the Portuguese and Spanish Nuncios, Mgr.
Monaco-la-Valetta, of the Congregation of the
Sacred Office ; Mgr. Capalti, Secretary of the
Propaganda ; Mgr. Gonella, Archbishop of
Viterbo ; and Mgr. Moreno, Archbishop of
Valladolid. As there are twenty-one vacant
hats it is not likely the above will be all the
creations. I have on a previous occasion men-
tioned other names as more or less likely. Two
are already conferred in petto. I believe it is
pretty generally known that when this is the
case, though the nomination may not be made
public, even for years, yet the place by seniority
in the Sacred College of the cardinal so nomi-
nated dates from the clay of his creation in
petto. This mode of nomination is employed in
favour of persons whom the Pope desires to
honour specially, but who cannot for a time
assume the cardinalitial state, either on ac-
count of their age, or because they are in a
position of serving the Church in a way it
would be desirable to interrupt or other such
cause.

Cardinal
Pope on Mnd
him to rude c d'Andrea's submission has subjected
comments on the part of the re-
volutionary papers who before vied in extolling
him. His •audience of -
eminence had an the
ay, at which Mgrs. Antonelli
and Patrizzi were present as witnesses of the
interview of reconciliation. Of course there
had not been wanting voices to predict that
work so nearly carried through would be de-
molished under the pressure of this last finish-
ing touch ; happily, such auguries were fully
belied. The Holy Father seems to have spoken
in uncompromising terms of what had taken
place in the past, but his Eminence listened
with great submission. There was one moment,
indeed, when he spoke of having been pro-
voked or driven to the course of action he had
adopted, but he was met by a circumstantial
narrative of the sufferings patiently endured
by the Holy See and the Sacred College. Yield-
ing to the weight of testimony brought against
e
him, the Cardinal renewed his submission in
terms which could. not fail to satisfy the Pope.
His Eminence came to the audience dressed
hi
msimptleyllientta la
a
ng
more, for cardinals only have the privilege of
,bnoctkwceasars(i)ncgk,
with
n the zuchetta, in purple sash and
other words, in the garb of a bishop
an
and not hi
wearing the zuchetta (or skull-cap) in- the
Pope's presence. There are, indeed, bythe way,
a few bishops, such as those of Lucca and Salz-
burg, who, by very ancient concession, have
the right to wear the cardinalitial insignia,
but they, also, are required to lay aside the
scarlet zuchetta in presence of a cardinal.
The Pope signified to Cardinal d'Andrea
that he had resolved to convert the Abbey of
Subiaco into a bishop's see, and that he would
let him know later his decision regarding his
Eminence's diocese of Sabina ; further, that he
stiva
would receive on the 18th—fe •
l of the
Chair of St. Peter—the Brief authorizing him
to resume the Roman Purple, wearing which, ini
he could present himself at the Cappella oue
4
Papale, in the Sistine Chapel on that
day (to-
day).
Since the feast of the Immaculate Concion o
tion has passed without any promulgation of
the general council, a great deal that is violent
and absurd, not to say calumnious, has been
published on the subject. It would take up
too much of your space to enter into a de-
tailed refutation of such attacks. There is no
reason, however, as yet to believe, as has been
asserted, that all idea of hol •
ding it has been
abandoned. The commissions charged to pre-:
pare the preliminary materials
are sedulously
at work ; and the Holy Father has specially
directed that the recent work of the Arch-
bishop of Westminster should be published in
Italian, two facts which show that it still oc-
cupies a place in the mind of
the Pope.
The amount received from the Diocese
of Mayence for the a Papal
this
year, amounted to
army, up to the end
of the second week of
upwards of 10,000
forms.
the pattern it has set, continue Meetings, after
of to be held
in many of the townsboth Prussia and Aus-
tria,
and very considerable collections offered
for the maintenance of the Pontifical army are
The ,
being sent. movement has likewise ex-
tended into Hungary, the collection in Buda-
Pest alone
amounted within a few days to
40,000 lire. It
anent will be well keptmay up, from the readiness
appeal for subscriptions of the
Peter's Pence
which it has been was met, and the steadiness with
continued year by year—
the Diocese of cologne, for instance, sending
under that head
65,000 scudi annually, and
other dioceses •
in proportion. And it is not
without reason that Germans who wish well
to Rome should
the enemies
ofnobestir themselves now, for
Rome are receiving substantial
help from Germany too. I have it from a
most undeniable source that Prussia is most
vigorous in thework of supplying Italy with
needle-guns. 45,000 were received at the port
of Genoa up to the last day of 1867, and every
week large cases of the same are consigned
by the land route also.
'On the other hand, again, we have a number
of men lately
filling
I" arrived who will be invaluable in
p the companies
of the carbinieri esteri,
served as they have• •
some time in the Prussian
army, out of which they have volunteered.
No one seems to have any faith in the
new Italian Ministry.
The crisis has laid bare
pretty plainly the utter want of accord reign-
ing in the country. There is no cohesion
even between members reputed of the same
Party. The watchword, " United Italy," has
introduced nothing but disunion ; it is all very
well for foreigners to sit over the map and give
sentence in favour of
dividing people by geo-
graphical boundaries, but those who are of the
people and acquainted with the people know

that union was never further off than now.
The map may suggest that the Peninsula is
quite sraall enough as compared with the
gigantic, dependencies of other Governments
to be nil gathered under one ilvime. But
the people themselves think otherwise. The
histories, traditions, customs and loyalties of
all the various countries of the Peninsula are
different one from the other, and each is too
classic to be merged into one heterogeneous
mass as if they were so many tribes of savages
on a barbarous shore.
The declaration of union, and the estab-
lishment of a clamorous meeting of violent
demagogues under the nameof a national Par-
liament have done nothinc, towards creating
either tl-te one or the other. It is true the
people hove not fought much against it, but
beware of thinking this is because they are
conquered ; they—that is the masses—are
sullen and reserved, and hold aloof with dig-
nity. They vote not, neither do they join in
any act of adhesion to the new Government—
they are not a fighting people, but, they know
what is better, and more rational, they know
how to bid th time. People at a distance
believe because there has not been much civil
war that, therefore, the work is accomplished,
but the masses on the spot regard it merely as
a huge impossibility, and tolerate the farce
because they know it is safe to do so. Let it
have its wild day and wear itself out ; of what
avail to encounter all the labour of tearing
down the cardboard edifice when it must suc-
cumb so shortly through its own want of foun-
dation ?