his exclusion from heaven. This he is taught to do-not by trusting to the righteousness of Jesus Christ, with the true repentance which manifests itself through a holy life, but by accumulating on his head hundreds of masses and millions of days of indulgence. Hence the innumerable masses and prayers which he sends before him during his life, as if to forestall his future punishment and bribe the Divine justice. And when the terrible moment arrives-that moment in which he is about to appear before the awful Judge, beneath whose searching eye his most secret thoughts lie bare-when trembling at the strict account that is about to be demanded of him, his fears represent to his excited imagination the most trifling shortcomings as mortal sins-when, with the decline of bodily strength, his enfeebled mind becomes more easily worked upon-then does his Jesuit confessor, his generous master, his kind, disinterested friend, come to give him the last proof of his ever-growing affection! He seats himself at the bedside, and, serpent-like, under pretense of inducing him to repent of his sins, he draws him a fearful and impressive picture of the torments which await the damned. He descants to him with oily sanctity upon the enormity of offending the Divine Savior, who shed his precious blood to redeem us. He terrifies him with the Almighty's implacable vengeance; and when his victim, choked with heart-rending agony, distracted, despairing of his ultimate salvation, is ready to curse God and set his power and anger at defiance-then, and not till then, does the Jesuit relent. Now he raises in the sufferer's heart the faintest hope that the Divine justice may possibly be disarmed, and mercy obtained by means of masses and indulgences. The exhausted man, who feels as if he were already plunged amid the boiling sulphur and devouring flames, grasps with a frantic eagerness at this anchor of salvation; and, did he possess tenfold more wealth than he does, he would willingly give it all up to save his soul. It may be that his heart, yearning with paternal affection, shrinks at the thought of condemning his helpless ones to beggary; but nevertheless, as if the welfare of his family was necessarily connected with his own perdition, and that of the Jesuits with eternal beatitude, the family are invariably sacrificed to the Jesuits.

It is notorious, that the most diabolical tricks have been resorted to in the case of dying men whose better judgment and natural sense of duty have withstood such perfidious wiles.

Alas! the punishment of such criminal obstinacy was always near at hand; the sick-chamber has been suddenly filled with flames and sulphurous vapor, as a warning to the impenitent sinner. And if he still resisted, the Evil Spirit himself, in his most frightful shape, has appeared to the dying man, as if waiting for his soul. Ah! one's hair stands on end while listening to such sacrilegious maneuvers. The immense wealth of the Jesuits has been bequeathed to them by wills made at the last hour!

Niocolini, in a note, gives us an ingenuous glimpse into the interior life of certain of these monastic traders in the ignorances and superstitions of mankind, which seems to indicate them as admirably inclined toward certain recumbent, if not death-bed, experiences themselves:

"In most monasteries, and more particularly in those of the Capuchins and Reformed, (Reformati,) there begins at Christmas a series of feasts, which continue till Lent. All sorts of games are played, the most splendid banquets are given, and in the small towns, above all, the refectory of the convent is the best place of amusement for the greater number of the inhabitants. At carnivals, two or three very magnificent entertainments take place, the board so profusely spread that one might imagine that Copia had here poured forth the whole contents of her horn. It must be remembered that these two orders live by alms. The somber silence of the cloister is replaced by a confused sound of merrymaking, and its gloomy vaults now echo with other songs than those of the Psalmist. A ball enlivens and terminates the feast; and, to render it still more animated, and perhaps to show how completely their vow of chastity has eradicated all their carnal appetite, some of the young monks appear coquettishly dressed in the garb of the fair sex, and begin the dance along with others transformed into gay cavaliers. To describe the scandalous scene which ensues, would be but to disgust my readers. I will only say, that I have myself often been a spectator at such saturnalia."

When Ignatius was living at Barcelona, he received many kindnesses and favors at the hand of a lady called Rosello. But after he had left this place, his mind was so absorbed in devising so many and lofty projects, that he entirely forgot her. She did not, however, forget Ignatius. Hearing of his increasing sanctity, of his having become the founder and general of a new Order, and "being then a widow, she resolved to abandon the world, and live in accordance with his evangelical counsels, and under the authority of the Society. With this pious resolution, and being joined in her holy enterprise by two virtuous and noble Roman ladies, she asked and received from Paul, permission to embrace this kind of life." Ignatius had the perception to see that these ladies would be an incumbrance to him and his Order. "Yet the gratitude which he owed to his kind benefactress weighed so much upon his heart, that he consented to receive them under his protection." But he soon had reason to repent of this act of condescension; the annoyance was so great, that he confessed himself that they gave him more trouble than the whole community, because he could never get done with them. At every moment he was obliged to resolve their strange questions, to allay their scruples, to hear their complaints, or settle their differences; and as, notwithstanding all his sagacity, Ignatius did not foresee of what advantage women could one day be to the Order, he applied to the Pope to be relieved of this charge, writing, at the same time, the following letter to Rosello:

"VENERABLE DAME ISABELLA ROSELLO-My Mother and my Sister in Jesus Christ.-In truth, I would wish, for the greater glory of God, to satisfy your good desires, and procure your spiritual progress by keeping you under my obedience, as you have been for some time past; but the continual ailments to which I am subject, and all my occupations which concern the service of our Lord, or his vicar on earth, permit me to do so no longer. Moreover, being persuaded, according to the light of my conscience, that this little Society ought not to take upon itself, in particular, the

direction of any woman who may be engaged to us by vows of obedience; as I have fully declared to our Holy Father, the Pope, it has seemed to me for the greater glory of God, that I ought no longer to look upon you as my spiritual daughter, and only as my godmother, as you have been for many years, to the greater glory of God. Consequently, for the greater service, and the greater honor of the everlasting Goodness, I give you, as much as I can, into the hands of the sovereign Pontiff, in order that, taking his judgment and will as a rule, you may find rest and consolation for the greater glory of the Divine Majesty.-At Rome, the first of October, 1549."

The Pope complied with the request, and exempted the order from the superintendence of women; and Ignatius enacted in the Constitutions, "that no member of the Society should undertake the care of souls, nor of religious, or of any other women whatever," [Loyola's disciples thought proper to differ from him,]" so as frequently to hear their confessions, or give them directions, although there is no objection to their receiving the confession of a monastery once, and for a special reason."

Dame Rosello and her two companions, being deprived of their spiritual father-not wishing to change him for another, so faithful were they-desisted at once from their pious undertaking, and for a time, nothing more was heard of female Jesuits; but about the year 1622, some females, more meddling than devoted, took upon themselves the task of reviving the Institution, although they were not authorized to do so. Nevertheless, they united into different communities, established houses for novitiates and colleges, chose a General

Const, pars vi, cap. iii, §7. To be a nun's confessor was, and is still, deemed a high privilege. Before the Council of Trent, this privilege belonged to the order of St. Francis, under whose rules most of the nuns also live. The conduct of those brothers and sisters was in the highest degree improper and scandalous. Although the Franciscans are now no longer the titular confessors of these nuns, nevertheless they are on the most friendly terms with one another; upon which friendship the Italians exercise their satirical and sarcastic wit. The confessors are now chosen by the respective bishops, who confer the honor upon their most faithful adherents, as a reward for their services. The rivalries of those sainted women, and their ingenious contrivances to engage the smile of their holy father, are notorious to every one who lives near a convent.

under the name of Proposta, and made vows into her hands of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience. Not being restrained by any law of seclusion, they went from place to place, bustling with gossip, and causing confusion and scandal throughout the Catholic camp. The community soon spread over a great part of lower Germany, France, Spain, and was especially numerous in Italy, where it originated.

Urban VIII, after vainly endeavoring to impose upon them some rules of discipline, by a brief of the 21st of May, 1631, suppressed them.

Thus ended the society of Female Jesuits under this name and form. But another afterward sprung up in its place, under the appellation of Religieuse du Sacre Coeur, having special rules very like those of the Jesuits, under whose absolute directions they now are.

In Catholic countries, above all, in France, and, we are sorry to say, in Piedmont also, very many of the highest rank in society, send their daughters to be educated in these monasteries. Had Ignatius known what powerful auxiliaries these worthy nuns were likely to prove to his Order, he would, in all likelihood, have borne with those petty annoyances caused to him by good dame Rosello. Ladies educated by these nuns, bring into their homes all those dissensions and cause all those evils which are so ably.described by the French professor, Michelet, who lost his chair the other day, for daring to attack these all-powerful auxiliaries of Napoleonthe Jesuits.

The members of the Society are divided into four classes: the professed, coadjutors, scholars, and novices. There is also a secret fifth class, known only to the General and a few faithful Jesuits, which, perhaps more than any other, contributes to the dreaded and mysterious power of the Order. It is composed of laymen of all ranks, from the minister to the humble shoe-boy. Among the individuals composing this class are to be found many ladies, who, unknown and unsuspected, are more dangerous in themselves, and more accurate spies to the Company. These are affiliated to the Society, but not bound by any vows. The Society, as a noble and avowed reward, promises to them forgiveness for all

Helyot, vol. iii, p. 492.