The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-07 00:00:00

PONTIFICAL BULL OF CONVOCATI6N.

ROME, July 1.
The publication of the Pontifical bull convoking
an (Ecumenical Council of the Bishops of the
Catholic. Church on the Bth December, 1869 (festi-
val of the Immaculate Conception), took place yes-
terday morning, in the atrium of the Vatican
Basilica. The College of Apostolic Protonotaries,
accompanied by a Pontifical chamberlain and the
Apostolic messengers, were present at this cere-
mony. One of the protouotaries ascended a pulpit
erected near the great gate of the Basilica, his
colleagues sitting within, and after a fanfare of
trumpets read aloud the Pontifical bull of convoca-
tion, two copies of which were afterwards affixed
by the messengers to the columns of the principal
entrance. The same ceremony attended the publi-
cation of the bull at the Lateran Church, the
Liberian Basilica, the Palace of the Curia Lino-
cenziana, the Apostolic Chancery, and the Campo

di 1 icri.
The text of the Pontifical Bull is as follows :
"Pius, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of Gad for
future Memory.
" The only begotten Sari of the Eternal Father,
out of the great love which He bore unto us, de-
scended from His celestial throne, in order to redeem
in the fulness of time, the whole human race from
the yoke of sin and from bondage to Satan and the
darkness of terror into which, by the fault of their
first parent, they had long since miserably fallen ;
and He, not declining from the paternal glory, was
born of the Immaculate and Most Holy Virgin
Mary, and manifested His doctrine and the rule of
life brought from Heaven, attesting it with so
many excellent works and giving Himself up as an
offering for us and as a victim to God in the odour
of sanctity ; and, having vanquished death, He,
before ascending into Heaven to sit upon the right
hand of the Father, sent His Apostles into the
world to preach the Gospel to every creature, and
gave to them the power of ruling the Church pur-
chased by His own blood, and thus constituted
what is the column and firmament ef truth ; and,
enriched by celestial treasures, shows the certain
path of salvation and the light of true doctrine
to all people. In order, then, that the govern-
ment of the Church should be ever maintained in a
right and well ordered course, and that the who!e
Christian world should uphold one sole faith,
doctrine, charity, and communion, He promised
His aid unto the end of time, and chose Peter,
whom He had declared to be Prince of the Apos les,
His Vicar on earth and head, foundation, and centre
of the Church, so that, invested with this rank and
honour, and with amplitude of chief and full autho-
rity, power, and jurisdiction, he should feed the
sheep and lambs, confirm the brethren, rule the
universal Church, and be the gate-keeper of Heaven,
and arbiter to bind and to loose ;
~the effect of his
judgment remaining unaltered in Heaven. (S. Leo,
Serra. 11.)
" And that the unity and integrity of the Church
and government might remain perpetually immut-
able, therefore the Roman Pontiffs, successors of
St. Peter, sitting in this same Roman chair of Peter,
inherit, and possess in full vigour the very same
supreme authority, jurisdiction, and primacy of
Peter over the whole Church.
" Hence the Roman Pontiffs, using their pastoral
care and authority over the whole flock of the
Lord divinely intrusted to them by Christ Himself
in the person of the Blessed Peter, have spared no
fatigue in making every possible provision in order
that, from the rising to the setting sun, all people
and all nations should have knowledge of the evan-
gelical doctrine, and by walking in the way of truth

and justice attain eternal life. -
"It is known to all with what unwearying care
the Roman Pontiffs have sought to preserve the de-
posit of the faith, the discipline of the clergy, and
their holy and learned teachings, and the sanctity
and dignity of matrimony, and to promote and ex-
tend the education of the youth of both sexes, to
foster the religion and piety of the people and vir-
tuous manners, to defend justice, and to assure the
tranquillity, order, prosperity, and rights of civil
society. Nor have the Pontiffs ornittel, when they
deemed it useful, especially in times of great per-
turbation and calamity for our most holy religion
and civil society, to convoke general councils, to
the end that, by consulting with all the bishops of
the Catholic world, whom the Holy Ghost has ap-
pointed to rule the Lord's Church, they might, by
their united strength, providentially and wisely or-
dain all those things that would chiefly serve to de-
fine the dogmas of the faith, dispel errors already
propagated, or that might thenceforward be propa-
gated, illustrate and elucidate doctrine, uphold and
reform ecclesiastical discipline, and correct the cor-
rupt manners of peoples.
" It is already known and manifest to all how
horrible a tempest now agitates the Church, and
what grievous ills afflict civil society. The Catholic
Church, her salutary doctrine, her venerated power,
and the supreme authority of this Apostolic See,
are opposed and set at naught by the bitter enemies
of God and man. All sacred things are contemned,
ecclesiastical property is plundered, bishops and
honoured men attached to the Divine ministry, and
men distinguished for their Catholic sentiments,
are troubled in every way, and religious families
suppressed. Impious books of every kind, pestilent
journals, and multitudinous and most pernicious
sects are spread abroad on all sides. The educa-
tion of the unhappy young is nearly everywhere
withdrawn from the clergy, and, what is worse, is
in many places confided to masters of impiety and
error.

" Thus, to our poignant grief, and that of all
good men, and with mischief to souls that can never
be sufficiently deplored, impiety and corruption of
manners have everywhere propagated themselves ;
and there prevails an unbridled license and
a contagion of depraved opiniono, of all kinds,
and of all vices and immoralities, and so great
a violation of Divine and human laws, that not only
our most holy religion, but human society also, is
thereby miserably disturbed and afflicted. In the
heavy accumulation of calamities whereby our heart
is thus oppressed, the supreme postal charge con-
fided to us requires that we should ever increas-
ingly exert our strength to repair the ruin of the

Id.
STAMIL'i,A) 51.

Church, to hc,l the soul 3 of the Lorl's flock, awl

o repel the a'saults and fatal attempts of those

who striv...! to uproot fro:u their foundvion, if that
were pos,ibl, both the Church arid civil socie`y.
A.nd tru!y, by the help of God, from the commence-

luent of our PontificAte, we, conscious of our

solemn obligation, lave never ceased to raise our
voice in our c:msiitoral allocations and Apostolic

letters, and to defend constantly by owery effort
the CAUSC of God and Illsly Church, confided

onto us by the Lord Christ, to uphold the rights
of Clis Apostolic See, and of justice and truth,
and to unmask the inz,idious devices of its
enemies, to condemn errors and false doctrines,
to prescribe impious sects, awl to watch over and
provide for the salvation of all the Lord's flock.
And following the practice of our illustrious
predecessors, we have deemel it opportune to
assemble a general council, which we have already
long desired, of all our venerable brethren, the
bishops of the whole Catholic world, who are
now called to take part in our solicitude. These
our venerable brethren, prompted by the warmest
love for the Catholic Church, and remarkable for

eminent piety and for reverence towards us and
this Apostolic See, and anxious also for the salva-
tion of souls, and excellent in wisdom, in doctrine,

and erudition, and greatly lamenting with us the
grierous condition.of sacred and profane things,
they will hold nothing more precious than to com-
municate to us their judgment, and to confer with

us in order to provide saluttay remedies for so many

calamities.

" All these things have to be most carefully
examined and regulated in this (Ecumenical Coun-
cil, more particularly with regard to - all -that in
these evil times concerns the greater glory of God,
the integrity of the faith, the respect for Divine

worship, and the eternal salvation of men, the

discipline of the orders of the clergy, and their
solid and salutary training, the observance of eccle-
siastical laws, the amelioration of manners, the
education of Christian youth, and the peace and
concord of all. And further, the Council

must seek by anxious study that by the help

of God all ills may be removed from civil
society, that erring wanderers may be led back into
the right way of truth, and that vice and error may
be eliminated, our august religion and her salutary

doctrine may everywhere be quickened by fresh
life, and may still further extend their influence,
and thus piety, honesty, probity, justice, cha-
rity, and all the Christian virtues, may gather
strength and flourish to the great benefit of human
society. None can ever deny that the strength of
the Catholic Church and her doctrine does not z.lohe
regard the eternal sa'vation of men, but is essential
also to the temporal welfare of peoples, and to their
real prosperity, order, and tranquillity, and even to
the progress and solidity of hum in science, as the
annals of sacred and profane history clearly prove
by a series of splendid facts and still constantly de-
monstrates.

And since Christ the L' so greatly consoles
and comforts us with those words, " For when two
or three are gathered together in my name there I
sin in the midst of them,"* we cannot doubt that,
in the abuldauce of his divine mercy, Ile would
vouchsafe to be present at this council, in which
we shall be able to establish those things that in
any way r. gard the welfare of his Holy Church.
" Therefore, after most fervent prayer offered up
day and night in the humility of our heart to God
the Father of light, we have judged it to be expe-
dient that this council should be assembled. For
this cause, strong in the authority of God the
Father Almighty, the Son, and the Ifuly Ghost,
and of the lloly Apostles, Peter and Paul, which
authority we represent on earth, we, with the
council and consent of our venerable brethren the
qardinals of the Iloly Roman Church, by these
present letters announce, convoke, and ordain the
sacred (-I:caine.nic,l and General Coanc.l to be
holden in that our City of Rome in the coming
year, 1869, in the Vatican I.l.i?iiica, commencing
upon the Bth of December, sacred to the immaculate
conception of the Virgin Mary, and to be prose-
cuted and con_lucted to its termination by the help
of God, to his glory, and to the salvation of all
Christian peoples.
"We therefore desire and command that our
venerable brethren, the patriarchs, archbishops,
bishops, as also our beloved sons, the abbots, and
all others who, by right or privilege, are entitled to
sit in general councils and to manifest their opinions
to the same, should from all parts repair to
this. (Ecumenical Council, convoked by us
and to this effect we invite, exhort, and adoaonish
them both in virtue of the oath they have taken to
us and this lloly See, and of holy ol)edience, and
under the penalties by law or custom decreed
against those who fail to appear at the councils.
We rigorously ordain and prescribe that they shall
be bound to attend this sacred council unless with-
held by some just impediment,* which, however,
must in all cases be proved to the Synod by the in-
termediary of legitimate proxies.
" We cherish the hope that God, in whose hands
are the hearts of men, showing himself favourable
to our desire, may grant that, by his ineffable
mercy and grace, all the supreme princes and go-
vernors, more especially Catholic, of all nations,
growing daily more conscious of the immense bene-
fits which human society derives from the Catholic
Church, and knowing that the Church is the most
stable foundation of empires and kingdoms, not only
will not impede our venerable brethren the bishops
and others from attending this council, but will
rather aid and favour this object, and co-operate
zealously, as becomes Catholic princes, in all that
may result to the greater glory of God arid the
benefit of this council.
"To the end that these our letters and the
things therein contained may come to the know-
ledge of all whom it may concern, and that
no person may be able to plead ignorance
of the same, and as, possibly, they might not
securely reach all those to whom they may be per.
sonally addressed, we desire and command that the
present letters be read publicly and audibly by the
messengers of our Curia or some public notary in
Lateran, Vatican, and Liberian Basilicas. After
having been read, they shall be affixed to the doors
of the said churches. the gates of the Apostolic
Chancery, in the usual place in the Campo di Fiori,
and in other public places, where they will remain
for some time, for the information of all. When
the originals shall be removed they will be replaced
by copies in the same places. In view of such lec-
tures, publication, and exhibition, we ordain that.,
two mouths from the date of publication and post-
ing of our letters, all and each of those whom they
may concern will be bound thereby equally as if
they had been read and communicated to them per-
sonally. We further order and decree that copies
of these letters, written or signed by a public
notary, and bearing the seal of some ecclesiastical
dignitary, may be accepted as perfectly authentic.
"No man will be at liberty to oppose or rashly
contravene this our indiction, announcement, con-
vocation, statute, decree, command, precept, and
invitation. And if any shall presume to attempt
this, let him know that he will incur the wrath of
Almighty God, and of his blessed Apostles Peter
and Paul.

" Given at Rome, at St. Peter, in the year of
the Incarnation of our Lcrd, 1868, on the
29th June, in the 23d year of our Ponti-
ficate.
" 4i Pies, Bishop of the Catholic Church."
L 44S
(Here follow the signatures of the Cardinals.)

The following description has been given by Lieutenant
Prideaux, of the spoils now exhibiting at the South Ken-
sington Museum :—" The blue silk embroidered robe
was intended by Theodore as • a present to her Majesty
;o accompany the embassy he desired to send to
England. In Abyssinia it is called a burnoos,' and
s only worn by ladies of the highest rank when on the
nareb. The silver slippers were also intended to be pre-
Panted to her Majesty. The damask silk tube was made
ately by order of Theodore, and worn by him on the Bth
tlpril only, when he received the captives who descended
'rom Magdala to Salamgc, by his orders. It was then
.:robably put on for effect, as he wished much to
sncourage his soldiers that morning. The crimson velvet
;rown was made by Theodore's orders at the time of his
,oronation at Axum. It was net worn by him for
several years before his death. The red cloth cap is
simply a Turkish tarboosb,' covered with silver gilt
filagree work. It was never worn by Theodore, to my
knowledge. The large seal bearing the inscription in
Amharic,' Theodorus, King of the Kings of Ethiopia,' and
a similar one in Arabic, was that used by him on all his
letters. The two small silver seals were probably the
property of the Metropolitan. One, the larger, bears an
inscription in atic and Arabic, and is about 200 years old.
the smaller is of recent manufacture, not more than ten
years, and bears an Arabic inscription."

THEODORE'S HOUSEHOLD AND PRIVATE

LIFE.

An interesting letter has been published in a contem-
porary from Dr. Blanc, from which we make a few
axtracts :—" Theodore was more bigoted than religious.
Above all things he was superstitious, and that to a degree
incredible in a man in other respects so superior to his

countrymen. He had always with him several astro•
lovers, whom he consulted on all important occasions—
especially before undertaking any expedition and
whose influence over him was unbounded. He hated

the priests, despised them for their ignorance, spurned
their doctrines, laughed at the marvellous stories some
Df their books contain, but still never marched without
tent church, a host of priests, defteras, and deacons, and
never passed near a church without kissing its threshold.
Though he could read and write, he never conde-
scended to correspond personally with anyone, but was.

always accompanied by several secretaries, to whom he
would dictate his letters ; and. so wonderful was his

memory that he would indite an answer to letters re-
ceived months, nay years, before, or dilate on subjects
Ind events that had occurred at a far remote period.

When he made any lengthened stay at a place he had
huts erected by his soldiers for himself and people, and
the whole was surrounded by a double line of fences.
Though not wanting in bravery, he never left anything to
ehance. At night the hillock on which he dwelt was corn•
oletely surrounded by musketeers, and he never slept with-
out having his pistols under his pillow and several loaded
guns by his side. He had a great fear of poison, taking no
food that had not been prepared by the queen or het
ronp/acant, and even then she and several attendants had
to taste it first. He made, however, an exception in our
favour one day that he visited Mr. Rassam at Gaffat. To
thew how much he respected and trusted the English, he
accepted some brandy ; allowing no one to taste it before
him, he unhesitatingly swallowed the whole draught.
Theodore was always an early riser ; indeed, he
nilulged in sleep but very little. Sometimes at two
o'clock, at the latest before four, he would issue from
his tent and give judgment on any case brought before
him. Of late his temper was such that litigants kept
out of his way ; he nevertheless retained his former
habits, and would be seen long before daylight sitting
luite alone on a stone, in deep meditation or in silent
prayer. He was also very abstemious in his food,
and never indulged in excesses of the table. He
rarely pal tick of more than one meal a day,
which was composed of sujera—the pancake loaves made
•,f the small seed of the teff—and red pepper during
fast days ; of writ, a kind of curry made of fish,
fowl, or mutton, on ordinary occasions. On feast days
he generally gave large dinners to his officers, and some-
times to the whole army. Unfortunately for Theodore, he
had for several years before his death greatly taken to
drink. Up to three or four o'clock he attended to the
business of the day ; and till then was generally
sober ; but after his afternoon siesta he was
invariably more or less intoxicated. In his dress he
was generally very simple, wearing only the ordinary
shama (white cotton cloth, with a red border, woven in •
the country), native-made trousers, and a European white
shirt ;to shoes, no covering to the head. His rathez
Long hair—for an Abyssinian—was divided in three
large plaits, and allowed to fall on his neck in three
plaited tails. Of late he had greatly neglected his hair ;
'or months it had not been plaited ; and to show the grief
he felt on account of the badness' of his people, he wouldnot
allow it to be besmeared with the heavy coating of butter in
which Abyssinians delight. On one occasion he apolo-
gised to us for the simplicity of his dress. During the
lifetime of We first wife, and for some time afterwards,
Theodore not only led a. most exemplary life, but forbade
the officals of his household and the chiefs more imme-
liately atou:ld him to live in concubinage. One day in
the beginning of 1860 Theodore perceived in a church
s handsome young girl silently praying to her
patron, the Virgin Mary. Struck with her
beauty and modesty, he made inquiries about her,
and was informed that she was the only daughter of
Deja,tch Oubi6, the Prince of Tigre, his former rival, whom
he had dethroned, and who was then his prisoner. He
asked for her hand, and met with a polite refusal. The
young girl desired to retire to a convent, and devote
herself to the service of God. Theodore was not a man
to be easily thwarted in his desires. He proposed to
Oubie that he would set him at liberty, only retain.
ing him in his camp as his guest,' should the prince pre-
vail on his daughter to accept his hand. At last Woizero
Tournish (` you are my sister') sacrificed herself for her old
-ather's welfare, and accepted the hand of a man whom she
could not love. This union was unfortunate. Theodore, to
his great disappointment, did not find in his second wife
the fervent affection, the almost blind devotion, of the dead
companion of his youth. Woizero Tournishwas proud ; she
always looked on her husband as a parvenu,' and took no
trouble to hide from him her want of regard and affection.
In the afternoon, Theodore, as it had been his former habit,
tired and weary, would retire for rest in the queen's tent.,
But he found no warm welcome there. His wife's looksi
were cold and full of pride ; and she even went so far a,
to receive him without the common courtesy due to her
king: One day when he came in she pretended not to
perceive him, did not rise, and remained silent to his
polite inquiries as to her health and welfare. She was
holding in her hand a book of psalms, and when Theodore
asked her why she did not answer him, she calmly
replied, without lifting up her eyes from the book
she held, Because I am conversing with a
greater and better man than you, the pious King David.
Theodore sent her to Magdala, together with her new-born
son, Alamayou (` I have seen the world') and took as his
favourite a widowed lady from Gedjow, named Woizero
Tamagno (a rather coarse, lascivious-looking person, the
mother of five children by her former husband), who soon
obtained such an ascendancy over hismindthat he publicly
proclaimed that he had divorced and discarded Tournish,
and that Tam agno should in future be considered by all as the
queen.' `Il n'y a que le premier pas qui coute. Soon Woizero
Tamagno had numerous rivals ; but she was a woman of
tact. Far from complaining, she rather encouraged Theo-
dore in his debauchery, and instead of being displeased
she would always receive him with a smile. One day
she said to her fickle lord, who felt rather astonished
at her forbearance, Why should Ihe jealous? I know
you love but me ; what is it if you stoop now and
then to pick up some flowers to beautify them by your
breat 11 r Both queens and Alamayou accompanied the
English army in its march back. Woizero Tamango left
with feelings of gratitude for the kindness and attention
she had received at the hands of the English commander
in-chief, as soon as she could with safety return to her
native land, Gedjow. But poor Tourmish died at Aikullet;
freedom and liberty were not to be her lot. Her child,
Alamayou, the son of Theodore and grandchild of Oubi6,
has now reached the English shore, an orphan, an exile,
but not uncared for."

An establishment in Dublin is busily engaged in
purchasing and shipping to Italy, by order of the Govern-
ment of that country, horses for breeding purposes. This
week a number of first-class hunters and steeple-chasing
mares were consigned to their destination.
DISCOVERY. OF GOLD IN AFRlCA.—Goldfields
Lave been discovered in South Africa. News comes by
the Roman that " diggers" had arrived at Shoostrong, the
Matjen's head kraal, whose country is rich in
goldfields, and had made terms with that chief for the
privilege of digging. Ma[jen bad received the party in
a friendly manner and pointed out the treasure ; he also
expressed himself anxious to be taken under British pro-
tectian. Lions were plentiful in the country, and caution
with regard to them was found necessary.

THE WANT OF RAIN IN IRELAND.—The want of
rain is beginning to be seriously spoken of in Ireland. In
consequence of the continued drought the hay harvest is
extremely light (though of the best quality), and the supply
of milk and butter is necessari'y curtailed, owing to the
distress which cattle endure. from want of sufficient mois-
ture. The Freeman's Journai says that since the summer
of 1798 such a season has not been known. "We hax e
had no winter, and March was only equalled in its genial
character by April an 1 May, in which we had nearly all
sunshine and no showers." ' •