desire that we may be clothed with the Stole of immortality, which had been lost by our first parents' transgression. The Chausible is the outer vestment worn by the Priest, and is generally much ornamented, and always embroidered with a large cross on the back, to signify that the Priest should also bear his cross, in imitation of Christ; and he prays, on putting it on, that he may so wear the sweet yoke of Christ, as to merit his grace. The Priest, now completely adorned, represents the person of Christ, and proceeds to the altar, to begin the sacrifice. And to make this representation still more complete, every particular vestment reminds us of something which our blessed Saviour bore at his passion. The Amice reminds us of his being blindfolded and buffeted for us. The Alb is literally the white garment with which Herod clothed him in derision. In the Girdle we see the cord by which our Saviour was bound to the pillar, when he was scourged. The Maniple, by its weight on the arm, represents the weight of our sins which our Saviour bore; and the Stole, being but like a yoke on the shoulders, must call to our remembrance the humility and obedience to which he submitted, for the expiation of those sins. The Chausible, with the cross on the back, very aptly expresses the purple garment, and the carriage of his cross. The color of these vestments vary, according to the festivals they celebrate. White, on all feasts of our Lord, of Confessors, and virgins, to signify their spotless innocence ;red, on festivals of Apostles and Martyrs, because they shed their blood for religion ;-purple, or violet, in times of mourn ́ing, viz., Lent, Advent, &c. ;—green, for all Sundays on which the proper office is said;—and black, in masses for the dead, and on Good Friday, when we commemorate the death of our Saviour. Gold has the privilege of every color, and may serve for any except black, for which it does not seem appro

priate. Thus the faithful, from the very colour of the vestments, may at once see the nature of the festival which is celebrated. The vestments of a Bishop have, likewise, a mysterious significance: the stole represents the yoke of the Gospel; the shoes being taken off, alludes to Moses putting off his shoes; the dalmatica is to represent to the Deacon, that he must be crucified to the world; the alb denotes the purity of the Priest's soul; the pastoral ring implies the Priest's spiritual marriage with the Church; his gloves are to denote that he is insensible of his good works; the girdle, that he will be girded with justice and virtue; the sandals, that he is to walk in the paths of the Lord; the horns of the mitre, the Old and New Testament; the shepherd's crook, his correction and paternal authority; the pluvial, which was formerly used by travellers, to represent the miseries of this life; and thus the Bishop is to become a living image of the true Christian. This account is given by Casalius; but to show us the propriety and reality of these characters, requires some farther explanation and proof.

Many of their ceremonies are considered as of apostolical tradition: such as, the sign of the cross; the renunciation of Satan, with all his works, used in baptism; and many others. Besides the Lord's Day, Roman Catholics universally have been accustomed, since the first ages of Christianity, to keep several holy-days annually. Among these, the feasts of our Saviour hold the first rank; and on them the principal mysteries of our redemption are publicly commemorated and ex- T plained to the faithful. St. Augustin says, that the feasts of Easter, Pentecost, and the Ascension, were kept by the Apostles. On the feasts of the blessed Virgin, of the Apostles, and other Saints and Martyrs, their heroic virtues and triumphs are pointed out, by the Roman Catholic Church, to her child

ren, for their imitation. The feast of Lent, however, is not of this description. It consists of forty days, in imitation of our Saviour's forty days' fast in the wilderness; and it is kept once a year, to do penance for sin, and as a preparation for celebrating the great feast of Easter. The Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, in one week of each of the four seasons of the year, are annually fast days, called quatuor tempora, or ember days. The intention of the Church, in the institution of these days, was, that her children, besides doing penance for their sins, might thank God for the benefits they receive from him, and beg of him to grant them worthy ministers of the altar; for it is at these times that the Clergy are solemnly ordained. It is, moreover, an universal practice, to fast the vigils before festivals. Besides abstaining, at least from flesh meats, it is essential to a fast day, that only one full meal, and that not before noon, be taken in the twenty-four hours of the day. Every Friday in the year is kept universally as a day of abstinence from flesh; and, in the Latin Church, Saturday, with a few exceptions; unless Christmas Day falls upon them.

CHAPTER XI.

PASSION WEEK AT ROME.

FREQUENT processions of penitents, covered with long, dark robes, which pass over the head, and have holes cut for the eyes, girded round the waist with ropes, preceded by a large black Cross, and bearing skulls and bones, and begging boxes,

for the souls in purgatory, are to be seen passing, in silence, along the streets, or gliding through the solitude of the Collisseum, or beneath the triumphal arches and ruins, of ancient Rome. A party of these mysterious-looking figures, that I saw yesterday emerging from the arch of Titus, and entering the Collisseum, where they knelt, in silence and in deep prayer, upon its once blood-stained area, before the altars of the Via Crusis, had a very striking effect. All these are forerunners of the Holy Week, to which immense multitudes still flock ¦ from all parts, though now, I believe, more from curiosity than piety, and for amusement, than penitence. A real penance, however, it has proved to me; and if I were to live in Rome for fifty years, I would never go through it again, though I am glad I have seen it once, now that is over. Before the Holy Week, our sufferings began; we were disturbed the very morning after our return from Naples, with the information that it was a grand festa,-the festa of the Annunciation, and that a grand funzione was to take place at the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, preceded by a still more superb procession, and that we must get up to see it, which we accordingly did; and drove through streets, lined with expecting crowds, and windows, hung with crimson and yellow silk draperies, and occupied by females, in their most gorgeous attire, till we made a stop near the church, before which the Pope's horse guards, in their splendid full-dress uniforms, were stationed to keep the ground; all of whom, both officers and men, wore in their caps a sprig of myrtle, as a sign of rejoicing. After waiting a short time, the procession appeared, headed by another detachment of the guards, mounted on prancing black chargers, who rode forward to clear the way, accompanied by such a flourish of trumpets and kettle drums, that it looked like any thing but a peaceable or religious proceeding. This

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martial array was followed by a bareheaded Priest, on a white mule, bearing the Host in a gold cup, at the sight of which, every body (not excepting our coachman, who dropped down on the box,) fell upon their knees, and we were left alone, heretically sitting in the open barouche.

The Pope, I understand, used formerly to ride upon the white mule himself; whether in memory of our Saviour's entrance into Jerusalem on an ass, or no, I cannot say; and all the Cardinals used to follow him, in their magnificent robes of state, mounted either on mules, or horses; and as the Eminentissimi are, for the most part, not very eminent horsemen, they were generally tied on, lest they should tumble off. This cavalcade must have been a very entertaining sight. I understand that Pius VI., who was a very handsome man, kept up this custom, but the present Pope is far too infirm for such an enterprise; so he followed the man on the white mule, in his state coach; at the very sight of which, we seemed to have made a jump back of two hundred years at least. It was a huge machine, composed almost entirely of plate-glass, fixed in a ponderous carved and gilded frame, through which was distinctly visible the person of the venerable old Pope, dressed in robes of white and silver, and incessantly giving his benediction to the people, by a twirl of three fingers; which are typical of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; the last being represented by the little finger.

On the gilded back of this vehicle, the only part, I think, that was not made of glass, was a picture of the Pope, in his chair of state, and the Virgin Mary at his feet. This extraordinary machine was drawn by six black horses, with superb harness of crimson velvet and gold; the coachmen, or rather postillions, were dressed in coats of silver tissue, with crimson