merits of CHRIST and the saints. When these persons, as true penitents, shall have departed [out of this life] in the love of Gon, before they shall have 'by fruits meet for repentance,' rendered satisfaction for their sins of commission and omission, yet their souls are already expiated by the fire of purgatory; so that an entrance lies open for them into the eternal country, into which nothing that is defiled and unholy can enter. Give attention, venerable Brethren, to this matter: for there are persons, who, following a wisdom which is not of GOD, and rolling themselves up in sheep's clothing, generally under a specious semblance of greater purity and piety, even now disseminate among the people depraved interpretations and comments about this matter. But now instruct your flocks in those things which they must perform, in those offices of piety and charity in which they ought to exercise themselves, and in the diligence and the feeling of grief with which they ought to examine themselves and their lives, and to reject and amend whatever is vicious in their manners, that they may obtain the most abundant and real profit from this very sacred indulgence.

"But this is the chief object of your care, venerable Brethren, that those of your several flocks who shall have formed the design of undertaking this pilgrimage, complete it in a religious manner, that they avoid in the journey every thing which can disturb their pious desires, and which may seduce them from their holy purpose, and that they in preference earnestly pursue those objects which usually inflame and incite religion. But if, with regard to your persons and your situ. ations, you be permitted to approach this citadel of religion, the sight of you will im part the highest splendour to this solemn exhibition, you will obtain the greatest riches of divine mercy, and, in imitation of those who convey the most costly merchandise, you will communicate these riches, with consummate delight, to the rest of your people.

"We entertain no doubt, that our very dear sons in CHRIST, all the Catholic Princes, will assist us in such a momentous affair as this, with all the authority [qua valent) which they possess, that these our designs for the salvation of souls may obtain their desired success. We therefore entreat and exhort them, according to the eminent zeal which they display towards religion, to second the diligence of our venerable Brethren the Bishops, and to render the most efficient support to their care, and to see that a safe passage be in every direction afforded, and hospitable entertainment provided for those pilgrims who may enter within the boundaries of their dominions lest any injury befall them in [performing] a work of the greatest piety. It has undoubtedly not escaped their observation, that a conspiracy has been every where formed to abolish the most holy laws both of civil and ecclesiastical government; and that God has performed wonders, for, stretching forth his hand, he hath humbled the arrogance of the

strong. Let Princes therefore consider, that due thanks must continually be given to the LORD of Lords, who hath achieved the victory; and the protection of the Divine mercy must be asked by humble and frequent prayer, that while the iniquity of the wicked is still spreading itself like a canker, GoD may, of his clemency towards us, perfect the work which He hath begun. Indeed we had these reflections on our mind, while we were deliberating about the celebration of the Jubilee; for we knew well the sacrifice of praise which would be offered to GOD, by this general consent of all christian people, to procure those gifts, all the treasuries of which we now open. For the attainment of these gifts let even Catholic Princes strive and since they possess great and elevated minds, let them protect this very sacred work with intense care and perpetual succour. They will learn by experience, that principally in this manner they will call down upon themselves the divine mercies, and that they are in reality performing, in behalf of their several empires, whatever they may have done for promoting the safety [rei sacra] of religion, and for cherishing piety, that every seed of vice being destroyed, the meadows fruitful in virtues may abundantly flourish.

"But, in order that all these things may succeed according to our wishes, we ask the prayers, before God, of as many of you our sons, as belong to the sheepfold of CHRIST. For we hope, that, by the general vows and entreaties by which you earnestly beseech the Divine compassion to be shown in the good of the Catholic Faith, in the return of those who have wandered from the truth, and in the happiness of Princes, you will most effectually assist our weakness in the discharge of our most important functions.

"But that the present letters may with the greater facility come to the knowledge of all the faithful, whatever may be the places of their abode, it is our pleasure, that even the printed copies of them. (which yet must be subscribed by the hand of some notary public, and ratiñed by the seal of a person enjoying high ecclesiastical dignity,) inspire the same confidence as would be given to these presents themselves, if they were to be exhibited or produced.

"Therefore, let no man whatever be permitted to infringe, or, by an audacious temerity, to act in opposition to this page of our Indiction, Promulgation, Concession, Exhortation, and Pleasure. But if any one shall presume to make the attempt, let him know, that he will incur the indignation of the omnipotent GOD, and of his blessed Apostles, PETER and PAUL.

"Given at Rome, in St. Peter's, in the year of our LORD's incarnation, One Thousand, Eight Hundred, and Twenty-four, on the 24th of May, and in the first year of our Pontificate."

The French translator adds:-"This Bull is signed by two Cardinals, M. ANTOINE GABRIEL SEVEROLI, Pro-daltaire, Vice-Chancellor, and JoSEPH ALBANI."'*

sum of £20. 8s. 6d. was collected at the opening."

SHERBORNE, Dorset.-"A very neat Chapel, which will accommodate about five hundred persons, was opened in this town on Tuesday, June 22d, by the REV. J. M. BYRON, and the REV. WILLIAM BEAL. The Congregations were large, and the Collections amounted to near £50."

LEAVENING.-" This village is six miles from Malton, and contains a population of about five hundred persons. The Chapel is thirty-three feet by twenty-three, and cost £120. Upwards of Eighty Pounds have been raised by subscription. This Chapel was opened on Sunday, July 11, 1824, by BARNARD CLARKSON, Esq."

BARTON, Lancashire." On Sunday, July 18th, 1824, the Methodist Chapel in this place was re-opened, by the REV. ROBERT NEWTON; when Collections were made, amounting to £18. This Chapel, which was erected about thirty years since, was low, and incommodious. About twelve months ago, a subscription was instituted for the purpose of raising the walls, and of erecting galleries and a vestry. These objects are now accomplished; so that two hundred persons can now be accommodated with pews, leaving the body of the chapel open for

THE COLOSSAL RAY OR SKATE.

SEVERAL of the species of the genus Raia are remarkable, on account of their vast size and strength. They occur principally in the Tropical Seas, one species only being known as an inhabitant of the European Seas, viz, the Ray of Fabroni, a native of the Mediterranean, which attains a breadth of 12 feet. LABAT describes a monstrous skate, observed by the Negroes of Guadaloupe, as being 13 feet 8 inches broad, and about 10 feet from the snout to the insertion of the tail, which was 15 feet long, and 20 inches broad at its insertion, making the total length 25 feet. The flesh, he says, was not eaten by Europeans, bat was salted by the Negroes. The monster named Manta, and said to suffocate the pearl-fishers, is probably the same, or a similar animal. The Raia Banksiana, found in the West Indian seas, SIR JOSEPH BANKS informs us, is sometimes so large, that it re

quires seven pair of oxen to drag it along the ground. A species of Ray, probably the Banksiana, was lately killed on the coast of America, the capture of which is thus described by MR. MITCHELL, of New York, in a letter to the President of the New-York Lyceum of Natural History.

"On the 9th day of September, 1823, returned from a cruise off DelawareBay the fishing smack Una. She bad sailed about three weeks before from New-York, for the express purpose of catching an enormons fish, which had been reported to frequent the ocean a few leagues beyond Cape Henlopen. The adventurers in this bold enterprise have been successful. The creature is one of the huge individuals of the family of Raia, or, perhaps, may be erected, from its novelty and peculiarity, into a new genus, between the Squalus and the Acipenser. its strength was such, that after the body had been penetrated by two strong and well-formed

gigs of the best tempered iron, the shank of one of them was broken off, and the other singularly bent. The boat containing the fishermen was connected, after the deadly instrument had taken hold, with the wounded inhabitant of the deep, by a strong warp or line. The celerity with which the fish swam could only be compared to that of the harpooned whale, dragging the boat after it with such speed, as to cause a wave to rise on each side of the furrow in which he moved, several feet higher than the boat itself. The weight of the fish after death was such, that three pair of oxen, one horse, and twenty-two men, all pulling together, with the surge of the Atlantic wave to help, conld not convey it far to the dry beach. It was estimated from this (a probable estimate) to equal four tons and a half, or perhaps five tons. The size was enormous; for the distance from the extremity of one wing or pectoral fin to the other, expanded like the wing of an eagle, measures eighteen feet; over the extremity of the back, and on the right line of the belly, sixteen feet; the distance from the snout to the end of the tail, fourteen feet; length of the tail, four feet; width of the mouth, two feet nine inches. The operation of combat and killing lasted nine hours. The achievement was witnessed by crowds of citizens on the shores of New-Jersey and Delaware, and by the persons on board the flotilla of vessels in the bay and offing. During the scuffle, the wings, side-flaps, or vast alated fins of the monster, lashed the sea with such vehemence, that the spray rose to the height of thirty feet, and rained around to the distance of fifty feet."

In the month of February last, the following interesting account of the capture of the Colossal Skate or Ray, was furnished by LIEUTENANT LAMONT, of the 91st Regiment :

"The first appearance of an animal of this species, since I have been here, (about eighteen months,) was about two months ago, when I was called out to the beach by some of the inhabitants, whom I found, on going there, to be assembled in great numbers, to see what they called the Sea-Devil. I confess my curiosity was not less excited than theirs, when I saw floating close to the surface of the water, about twenty yards from me, a large mass of living substance, of a dark colour, but of the shape and size of which, I could not, at the time, form any proper idea, it being so very different from any thing I had ever before seen or heard of, farther than that I supposed it to have been many times the size of what I now believe it

was. No time was lost in setting out in pursuit of him, with harpoons, &c.; and it was not long before he was come up with, and struck with one of the harpoons; when he made off with great velocity, towing the boat after him. As he seemed to incline chiefly to the surface of the water, six or seven more harpoons were, (with the assistance of several canoes that had come up,) successively plunged into him, and all the boats made fast to each other, which he was obliged to pull after him, with several people in each. Such, however, was the great strength of this animal, that after being fast, in the manner Ís have described, for upwards of four hours, and taking the boats out to sea attached to him, to a distance of about ten miles from the harbour, and having been pierced with so many wounds, he was still able to defy every effort to bring him in. It had now got late, and was dark, and an attempt was made to force him up near enough to get another large harpoon into him: this was no sooner done, than he darted off: and, by an almost unaccountable and seemingly convulsive effort, in a moment broke loose from all his fetters, carrying away with him eight or ten harpoons and pikes, and leaving every one staring at his neighbour in speechless astonishment, confounded at the power of an animal which could thus snatch himself from them at a time when they conceived him almost completely in their power.

"Since then, some of these animals have occasionally been heard of at a distance from the harbour; and, a few days ago, in coming over from Fort Augusta, with another gentleman, we fell in with one of them, which allowed us to get so near him that it was determined to set out the next morning to look for him. We did so; and took with us several large harpoons, muskets, pikes, &c., determined, if it were possible, to bring him in. He was descried, about eight o'clock, near Greenwich, towards the top of the harbour, as usual floating near the surface, and moving slowly about. Having allowed the boat to get very close to him, he was struck with a harpoon, which was thrown at him in a most dexterous manner by LIEUTENANT ST. JOHN, of the Royal Artillery. He immediately set out towards the mouth of the harbour, towing the boat after him with such velocity, that it could not be overtaken by any of the others: after going in this way for near an hour, he turned back, which enabled the other boats to lay hold; and four of them were tied, one after the other, to the one by which he was harpooned, with four or five people in cach of them. By this means.

we hoped to tire him out the sooner. In about an hour and a half after he was first struck, a favourable opportunity offering, a large five-pointed harpoon, made fast to a very heavy staff, was thrown at him with such an elevation, that it should fall upon him with the whole weight of the weapon.This having been as well directed as the first, was lodged nearly in the middle of his back. The struggle he made at this time to get away was truly tremendous, plunging in the midst of the boats, darting from the bottom to the surface alternately,-dashing the water and foam on every side of him,—and rolling round and round to extricate himself from the pole. This might be considered as having given him the coup de grace, although, at short intervals afterwards, he was struck with two more harpoons, and several musket balls were fired into him. Still he was able to set out again, taking the five boats after him, which he carried along with the greatest ease. Having gone in this way for some time, he came to a stop, and laid himself to the bottom, when, with all the lines that were attached to him, it was quite impossible to move him. All expedients were nearly beginning to fail, when it was proposed to slacken the lines, which being done had the desired effect, and he again set out. Having thus got him from the ground, inch by inch was gained upon him, till he was got near the surface, when he was struck with two large spikes. He now got rather faint; and the boats closing on him on every side, the combat became general with pikes, muskets, and every weapon we had. He was now towed ashore, being about five hours since he was first struck. This it required all the boats to do, and then but very slowly. His appearance now showed the extraordinary tenacity of life of which this animal must be possessed, as his whole body was literally a heap of wounds, many of which were through and through, and he was not yet quite dead. This circumstance, with his great strength, is the cause of the name which has been given him by the fishermen here, as they have never been able to succeed in taking one of them, and were firmly of opinion that it was impossible to do so.

"This monster is of the flat-fish kind. On measurement, it was found to be in length and breadth nearly the same, about fifteen feet, and in depth about three to four feet. It had the appearance of having no head, as there was no prominence at its mouth: on the contrary, its exterior margin formed, as it were, the segment of a circle, with its arc towards the animal's body, and opening

into a large cavity of about two feet and a half in width, without teeth, into which a man went with so much ease, that I do not exaggerate when I say, that another might have done so at the same time. On each side of the mouth projected a mass of cartilaginous substance like horns, about a foot and a half long, and capable of meeting before the mouth. These feelers moved about a great deal in swimming, and are probably of use in feeding. On looking on this animal as it lay on the ground with its back upwards, it might be said to be nearly of equal dimensions on every side, with the exception of the two lateral extremities, extending to a point, about four feet from the body, and a tail about five feet long, four and a half inches in diameter at the root, and tapering to s point. Above the root of the tail was the dorsal fin, and on each side of it a flat and flabby substance lying close to the body, of the appearance of fins. There were no other distinct fins, and its sole propelling power seemed to be its two lateral extremities, which became very flat and thin towards the point. As it shows these much in swimming, it gives a spectator an extraordinary idea of its size, as, when imperfectly seen, the conclusion naturally is, if the breadth is so great, how much greater must the length be. This animal was a female, and viviparous. On opening it, a young one, about twenty pounds" weight, was taken out, perfectly formed, and which has been preserved. Wishing to know what it fed upon, I saw the stomach opened, which was round, about eight inches in diameter, and quite empty. It was closely studded over with circular spots of a muscular substance. Under the stomach was a long bag, with transverse muscular layers from end to end, and which contained nothing but some slime and gravel. This muscular appearance of the digestive organs would lead one to suppose, that it fed upon other fish, as is the general opinion here, though its having no teeth does not support that idea. Its weight was so great that it was impossible to ascertain it at the time; but some idea may be formed of it, when I assure you, that it was with difficulty that forty men, with two lines attached to it, could drag it along the ground. Its bones were soft, and, with the exception of the jawbones, could be cut with a knife. One ridge of bone ran from the mouth to the middle of the back, where it was met by another running transversely, from the extremities of which there were two larger ones converging towards tail."-Edinburgh Philosophical

the

Journal.

MARCH 29th, 1824.-I left Beyroot for Jerusalem about noon, in company with RABBI ISAAC BEN SHLOMAN. We had each of us a mule, the owners of which accompanied us: the muleteer of the Rabbi on foot; the other had a small ass to ride on. We passed the grove of pine-trees noticed by MAUNDRELL, and planted, according to him, by the EMIR FACCARDINE: (called by other writers, FAKRELDIN.) To the plantation of these trees, the present healthiness of Beyroot is attributed.

It was about five o'clock in the afternoon when we passed the River Damer, or Damons. We were obliged to ford the river, which was still swelled with the late rains; the bridge had been broken by them. We got over without any accident, and soon after saw Nabyyoonas: (our intended place of residence for the night.) Naby-yoonas, (in English, the Prophet JONAS,) is so called, because the Prophet JONAS, it is said, was here vomited by the fish on dry land. The Turks pretend that he died here, and show what they call his tomb.

MR. LEWIS had recommended to me not to lodge at the Khan here, but to go to the house of a Dervish who receives travellers. RABBI ISAAC, who had travelled this road with MR. LEWIS, conducted me thither. We placed our beds in an open shed in his yard, and after recommending myself to the divine protection, I composed myself to sleep, and slept as well as the novelty of the circumstances in which I found myself, and the abundance of vermin, would permit me.

March 30th. We arrived at Tyre, (called by the Arabs, Sour,) about eight o'clock in the evening. The gates were shut; but on my Hebrew companion calling out "Inglese," they were immediately opened. This they would not have done to any of the subjects of the Grand Signor. MR. CHAPEAUD, the English Consul, received me with great kindness. MR. ABBOT had announced my arrival, and he told me he intended to accompany me on the morrow to Acre, and procure me a booyurdee, (a letter

of protection,) from the Pasha. He told me that the population was reckoned at fifteen hundred Maronites, and a few Greeks; and of Mahometans fifteen hundred, Metnalies, or followers of ALI; and only fifteen families of orthodox Turks, or Sonuites. This estimate appears much too high.

March 31st. We left Tyre at sunrise. After riding on the sand two hours, we ascended a small mountain, whose base was washed by the sea. At one place we heard a noise, at irregular intervals, like that of a blast furnace, and on approaching it, we discovered that it was occasioned by a violent emission of the air through a narrow passage in the rock, about thirty feet above the level of the sea. With so much violence was the air driven out, that it appeared at every eruption like a thick smoke : it was doubtless caused by the weight of the waves, which were forced with violence into some caverns at the foot of the mountain, from which the air could only escape by the aperture above.

There was abundance of anemones, hepatites, and others of the flowers cultivated in our gardens, growing wild ou the hills we passed this day; and in the valleys, on the banks of the streams, that beautiful plant, the laurel-rose, grew in great profusion. As at Acre the gates cannot be opened, even to Englishmen, after sunset, MR. CHAPEAUD invited me to quicken the pace of my mule as much as I could, lest I should arrive at Acre too late. In endeavouring to do this, my mule turned round, and threw me on the ground; I fell on my right hand, and sprained it considerably.

The town of Acre has a beautiful appearance, when seen from a short distance: the palm-trees, which are more numerous here than in either of the towns I had hitherto seen, give it quite an oriental appearance. One of the Mosques has a lofty minaret. There is a Turkish burial-ground on the side of the road, near the town: flowers were planted on most of the graves; a kind of small aloes seemed to have the pre