Hence, men have ever been prone to call in the aid of images and of showy rites, which appeal to the senses, as helps to their devotional feelings; and, however great the caution which may have been used by the better informed as to this matter, still, it is a well-known fact that the mass of the common people, where images have been used, have bestowed on them, or on the persons or objects which they represent, that regard and reverence which is due to God alone. It was probably with a reference to this general fact, that the Most High, when giving a code of moral laws for the government of all mankind, strictly forbade the making of religious images, as well as showing them any mark of reverence or worship. This prevalence of saint and image worship in the Roman Catholic Church, has led them to omit the second of the ten commandments, in many of the catechisms which they publish for the use of the people, though found in all their editions of the Bible. They make the number good, however, by dividing the last command into two parts.

The preceding remarks, so far as they relate to the strong tendency there is among men to multiply those objects, and those rites and ceremonies, of religious worship which appeal to the senses, express ideas which have often been forced upon my mind, when viewing the forms of the Catholic Church, as they exist in the South of Europe. One example of this love of display was presented in the funeral of a Cardinal, which we attended while at Rome. On the decease of such a dignitary, there is a long succession of visits of etiquette, and other observances, which the author of the "Sacred Ceremonies," to whom allusion has before been made, occupies several pages in describing. As a specimen of these, the house is dressed in mourning, the deceased is arrayed in all his showy robes of office, with his rings, his belts and scarfs, and numerous other articles, for the Latin names of which one may search through Ainsworth in vain. And here, omitting the number of lights which must be used in the procession and the order of marching, suffice it to say, that the body is taken by night and placed in a church, where mass is said and other rites performed, until, at the end of nine days, it is buried. One evening, when riding to the Coliseum, to view it by moonlight, we were a long time detained by one of these funeral trains, which was moving along a street we wished to cross; and it was not until we had made three or four attempts at other places, and

passed a number of squares out of our way, that we escaped beyond the foremost end of the procession. The old Jewish and Pagan practice still prevails among the Catholics, of making a display, by hiring mourners from the lowest of the people. They march two and two, carrying long wax torches in their hands, and with bags, commonly of white, but some times red or of other colors, drawn over the head and reaching down to the waist, with holes cut through them, for the mouth and eyes. In the case referred to above, there may have been a thousand or more of these ghostly geniuses, and each torch-bearer was attended by a ragged satellite, carrying a stick with a piece of paper wound in the shape of a funnel, tied to the end of it, in which he caught the melted wax which dropped from the torches. To succeed well in this, requires no little quickness and sleight of hand.

At the appointed hour in the morning, we repaired to the church where the body of the Cardinal was lying in state, on a bier some ten feet high, covered with a large velvet cloth, richly embroidered with gold, and surrounded by hundreds of burning torches. The Pope's Swiss Guard formed a line on each side, from the door of the church to the enclosure, surrounding the altar. They were tall, fine looking fellows, with long lances mounted by a kind of tomahawk or battleaxe, and wearing broad-brimmed fur hats turned up on one side, and Turkish breeches of the size of meal-bags, with broad stripes of scarlet, yellow, and other gay and fantastic colors. When I saw them standing thus, or lounging about the entrance of the Vatican,-guarding that stately palace of the Vicegerent of the humble Prince of Peace, a feeling of sadness oppressed me, and I could not but wish that instead of thus acting as the mercenary hirelings of a foreign power, they had still been breathing the pure, free air of their native mountains. At length the Cardinals, some fifty or sixty in number, began to collect. They rode each one in his splendid scarlet or crimson-colored coach, with the reins, and the high crests which rose from between the ears of their noble steeds, of the same bright hue with the carriage. Behind each carriage stood three tall, soldierlike footmen, with cocked hats and livery coats covered with lace. The common full-flowing robes of the Cardinals, of the brightest scarlet silk, with their long trains, had been exchanged for the mourning dress of purple, of the same form and materials with the other. Each one, as he entered, was

waited on from the door to his seat, by gentleman ushers, wearing full tunics of black broadcloth, and swords by their sides, with hilts and scabbards of brightly polished steel. The train-bearer marched behind his master, bearing his charge, and when his highness was seated, sat down at his feet. The Cardinals were mostly old, gray-headed men, some of whom were tottering on the brink of the grave. For those of such an age, many of whom belong to the first families in Europe, to bow in lowly reverence before a fellowman, though clad in robes of more than royal splendor, and crowned with precious stones and gold, and humbly kiss his hand, as I saw them do that of the Pope, was enough to make one pour forth tears of shame and heartfelt pity, for the weak ambition which could claim, and the base servility which could yield, such degrading adulation. And this, too, was in the house of God, and on that holy day which He has set apart for his peculiar worship, and for that alone. And hath He not in his Word declared, - Lo, I am a jealous God, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

The Popes or Bishops of Rome, at an early period of their history, derived much of their popularity, and of the support which they received in their struggles with the emperors of the East, from the fact, that not only the clergy and the military, but the great body of the people, had a voice in their election. In the year 1059, however, Pope Nicolaus the Second, with a view to put an end to the tumults, factions, and civil wars resulting from these elections, gave the power of appointing the Popes to a College of Cardinals, leaving to the people only a negative voice in the case of such elections as might be peculiarly unpopular. This college consisted, at first, of the seven Cardinal Bishops as they were called, in the vicinity of Rome, and the Cardinal Presbyters or Priests, who had charge of the twenty-eight parishes or principal churches in Rome. To these, as a means of quieting the complaints of the inferior orders of the clergy, those highest in rank among them were added; but the frequent altercations arising between the Cardinals and those of different classes who had formerly a direct voice in the election of Popes, led Alexander the Third, in 1179, to obtain a decree of Council, by which the power of choosing Popes was placed wholly in the hands of the Cardinals, and a vote of two-thirds of their number was made necessary for an election. Such

has continued to be the constitution of the church until the present time.

The number of Cardinals is limited to seventy-two, but there are commonly several vacancies in the College. The ancient abuse of appointing men to this body from family interest, merely, now exists only in a limited degree. There were recently two Cardinals of the celebrated Doria family, of Genoa; and Cardinal York, the last of the royal house of Stuart, died near Rome, in 1807. In the year 1818 there were sixty-four Cardinals in the whole Romish church, and their average age was sixty-seven and a half years. All of them, when appointed, except fifteen, were more than fifty years of age; and, at the date just referred to, all except thirteen were more than sixty years old. Of sixty Cardinals who died during the reign of the last Pope, the average age was seventy-five years and three fourths; a truly astonishing example of longevity, for, as a general fact, of every one thousand born, only eighty-five reach the age of seventy-five years. The thirty or forty Cardinals who reside constantly at Rome, have a salary of three thousand dollars each; in addition to which they must have some private fortune, inasmuch as they are obliged to maintain at least two coachmen, four horses, as many carriages, and six servants. Some of them, it is said, are always seen in large parties at Rome, and though it is not considered proper to dance in their presence, yet they play much at cards.

The whole number of Popes, from St. Peter down to the present time, is variously computed by Catholic writers, at from two hundred and fifty-two to two hundred and sixty-two; but, be this as it may, there were one hundred and twelve between the years 1000 and 1800; making the average of each reign, seven years and one month. On the other hand, the reigns of the kings of France, from Hugh Capet to Louis the Sixteenth, and those of England, from William the Conqueror to George the Fourth, have averaged more than twenty years. This difference has been owing, mainly, to the advanced age of the Popes when elected. Of the one hundred and twelve just noticed, only six have been chosen under thirty years of age, and the longest interregnum was three years. Thirtyseven Popes have suffered martyrdom; six were married bebefore they were elected; one resigned; and Paul the Second expelled all literary men from his court and council, as being heretics, and possessed of useless learning. Eleven nephews,

alias sons, have succeeded their Papal uncles, or fathers. The present Pope was chosen by Austrian influence, which is now predominant at Rome; and his election caused strong excitement among those in the interest of the other nations of Europe. The fact that the Pope, by his political connexions, is pledged to the support of arbitrary principles, has led him, in every way, to oppose the progress of liberty in Spain and Portugal. His Secretary of State was recently dismissed, because he was opposed to offending France and England, by actively promoting the cause of Don Carlos, in Spain. In advancing the interests of this bigoted tyrant, as also formerly those of Don Miguel, in Portugal, the Pope has been unsparing in his bulls, denouncing their opponents, and releasing the people from their oaths of allegiance to them. This course has done much to free Spain from the bonds of Papal superstition, and to make her a Catholic merely, as distinguished from a Roman Catholic country.

The population of the territory allotted to the Pope, by the Congress of Vienna, amounted, in 1826, to 2,590,000; of whom 15,000 were Jews. The city of Rome contained, in 1817, 131,256 inhabitants; of whom 31 were bishops, 1,434 priests, 1,434 monks, 1,303 nuns; in hospitals there were 2,992; in prisons, 996. Thus the whole number of the clergy and of nuns, was about one to every thirty-one, or more than three per cent. of the whole population. All who have taken a vow of celibacy, and are duly qualified to say mass, are priests. The rule with regard to such is, that they must have an annual income of seventy-two dollars, as their own property. This is called their patrimony; and if, in addition to this, they receive two hundred dollars from their parishes it is considered a sufficient support, inasmuch as they have no families to provide for. The office, that is, the hymns, lessons from the Scriptures, and acts of saints which priests are required to repeat every day, occupy about an hour, and may be gone through with at once, or at different times, as may be most convenient. Those who are engaged in teaching may often be seen muttering over the office to themselves during the hours of school, as a kind of drudgery to which they are subjected; religion, in the Catholic church, being measured more by the quantity than the quality.

The debt of the Papal government, when Rome was taken by the French, was 148,300,000. By confiscating lands, houses, rents, and other property, the government creditors