is so small, that it looked like a minute ornamental cross, such as a lady might wear round her neck; and its diminutiveness disappointed us all. The whole church was thronged with a vast multitude, of all classes and countries, from royalty to the meanest beggar, all gazing upon this one object.

In a few minutes, the Pope and all the Cardinals descended into St Peter's, and room being kept for them by the Swiss Guards, the aged Pontiff, whose silver hairs shaded his pale and resigned head, prostrated himself in silent adoration before the cross of fire. A long train of Cardinals knelt behind him, whose splendid robes and attendant train-bearers, formed a striking contrast to the humility of their attitude. Three abdicated monarchs knelt beside them,-the aged King of Spain, the poor and blind King of Sardinia, in the simple garb of a Jesuit, and the King of Holland, (Louis Buonaparte,) in the dress of the plainest citizen; the young King of Etruria, too, and his mother Queen,* and many reigning Princes of Germany and Italy, bent before the cross. Silence the most profound reigned, while those whom all were bound to worship on earth, knelt before the throne of Heaven. This striking scene has been so beautifully described by Madame de Staël, that I will not attempt to give you any account of it. She justly observes, that as soon as the act of adoration is finished, St Peter's resembles an immense caffé, in which the

Now Archduchess of the once happy Republic of Lucca,

people perambulate, apparently thinking of any thing but religion. The effect of the fiery cross is much diminished by the distracting lights in a little raised gallery on one side of the dome, in which the exposition of the relics was made. These chiefly consisted, I think, of a piece of the true cross on which Christ was crucified, incased in gold ; a bit of the spear which pierced the side; a morsel of the sponge; and the volto santo, as the Italians call it, or" the true image" of the face of our Saviour on Santa Veronica's handkerchief, whose statue, flourishing a marble pocket handkerchief, stands immediately below. Each of these precious relics was brought out successively by a priest, who carried it in his hands, and, followed by two others who carried nothing, walked continually to and fro in the little gallery-much as I have seen a lion exercise himself in his den. Then stopping full in face of the people, he presented it to their view, and at last went out with it at a door which opened upon the gallery, from behind the scenes, and returned with another.

Leaving St Peter's, we drove to S. Antonio de' Portoghesi, to see the sepulchre of Christ. The open portal of this small but beautiful church, poured forth one flood of light. The walls, columns, shrines, and lateral chapels, which are entirely formed of the most beautiful polished marbles, reflected like a mirror the blaze of the innumerable tapers with which it was illuminated. The sepulchre, which was in the great altar, was overpoweringly resplendent. The church, though crowd

ed with people, was as silent as the grave; not a whisper-not a footstep was to be heard. All except ourselves, were prostrate on the ground in silent prayer, and, with light footsteps, we left it as soon and as silently as we could..

This evening we attended a grand Accademia of sacred music, in the house of Signora Corsi, Via de' Coronari. Voices, which almost seemed more than human, sang, in the alternation of recitative, solo, duet, trio, and grand chorus, a succession of the most original, the most solemn, the most astonishing compositions that mortal genius surely ever framed, or mortal ear ever heard. It was music which resembled, in its wonderful pathos and power over the soul, nothing that I could have conceived this world to have produced. Never shall I forget the divine Miserere with which it concluded. It surpassed that which we had heard at the Sistine Chapel, not only in the superiority of the compo sition, but in having full and extremely fine accompaniments; whereas, at the latter, the music is in variably purely vocal. Out of Rome no such music is to be heard; but it is in sacred music, and especially in this branch of it, that the Romans excel, or rather they possess it exclusively..

LETTER LXXIV.

GOOD FRIDAY-THE TRE ORE-THE PILGRIMS.

On the morning of Good Friday, we resumed our wearisome labours by going to the Sistine Chapel. About ten o'clock the Pope appeared, and after a long service, the crucifix over the altar, which had been covered up all the week with a violet or purple-coloured cloth, (the mourning of crosses and cardinals here,) was uncovered. This is called the discovery of the cross; and then, after a great deal of fuss and mummery, it is laid on a napkin on a stand before the altar, and after some chanting, and much loss of time, the Pope comes to it, kneels to it, prays, or seems to pray, over it, and goes away, and all the Cardinals come one by one, and do the And this is called the Adoration of the Cross. Then they all set off upon the usual procession to the Paulina Chapel; the only difference being, that the Pope walks without any canopy over him, and uncovered. The doors of the Paulina Chapel were closed upon them, and what they

same.

did there I don't know; only I understand their business was to take up the Host which they had deposited in the sepulchre yesterday. Certain it is, they came back just as they went, except that the Pope wore his mitre. As soon as this was ever, without waiting for the long mass which was to follow, I went to the service of the Tre Ore, "the three hours of agony" of Christ upon the cross, which lasts from twelve to three.

It is a complete drama, and is performed in several churches. I attended it in S. Andrea delle Fratte, which, before I arrived, was crowded almost to suffocation; but a chair, in a commodious situation, and a soldier to guard it, had been kept for me by the attention of the priests, who had been apprised of my coming.

The upper part of the church was arranged like a theatre, with painted trees, and pasteboard rocks and thickets, representing Mount Calvary. A little way down, two Roman centurions, large as life, dressed in military uniforms, and mounted on pasteboard horses, were flourishing their pasteboard swords. Higher up on the mount, on three crucifixes, were nailed the figures of Christ and the two thieves; so correctly imitating life, or rather death, that I took it for wax-work.

Catholics say, Christ spoke seven times upon the cross, and at every saying a dagger entered the

* The seven sayings of Christ are as follows:

66

1st. Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do !"