destroyed the reputation of their order. Lax morals well suited to the immorality of the time, and which submitted principle to the promptings of policy, and sanctified the worst means under the plea of good ends, were seen to be their distinction. A system of principles suited alike to the vicious and the virtuous, which permitted everything that could be defended, furnishing palliations for perjuries and crimes of every kind—at one time by verbal distortion, at another by ambiguous expressions; then, again, by mental reservations, whereby the grossest and most heinous sins were justified-these and the like reproaches were laid to their charge, partly on the ground of Pascal's Lettres,' and partly from the writings of the Jesuits Sanches, Bauny, Escobar, Suarez, and Busembaum. Their own defences, on the other hand, only confirmed the suspicions raised against their system, by admitting one half of what was objectionable. At the same time, other accusations were brought against them, which they were still less able to refute, but which want of space prevents our enumerating.

Men, moreover, discovered an agreement between their principles and their morals, inasmuch as they were not always careful in. their excesses. Hence it happened that even the Iroquois, who had been converted by them, expressly demanded, in a treaty of peace in 1682, the removal of the Jesuits, who, they said, did everything that was not done by Jesus. They were removed, likewise, from several places in Italy, on account of their criminal intercourse with women; and a gencral horror prevailed throughout Europe, at the atrocious crime committed by the Jesuit Gerard on an innocent girl, in the very confessional. Men thus perceived, that it was not the propagation of true religion which they sought, but that of the papal power, and with it their own advantage and aggrandisement. The latter reproach was confirmed by the complaints raised by many merchants, against the trade which the Jesuits carried on with the productions of their missionary stations. The republic which they formed in Paraguay and Uruquay, under Spanish authority, in which they exercised an absolute government, may have been the best means of civilizing the natives; but that this republic was of importance to them in a commercial point of view, was seen in the convention of exchange, by which Spain ceded to Portugal, in the year 1750, seven parochial districts of that country. The resistance which the natives under the guidance of the Jesuits offered to the Portuguese troops, at last compelled the interested powers to enforce the demand, the result of which was the destruction of this Jesuit republic. In spite of their efforts in Portugal, the Jesuits became entangled in a criminal law-suit, which had not yet been

concluded, when a murderous attack was made on the life of King Joseph 1., in the year 1758, which rendered their case still worse. The minister, Pombal, proved their co-operation in this infamous attempt on the life of the king, and succeeded in expelling the order by an edict, dated Sept. 3, 1759. So that, though Portugal was the first kingdom in which the influence of the Jesuits became paramount, it was the first to strike it down. If Philip 11. humbled Portugal by the aid of the Jesuits, the vengeance of Pombal was a fearful retribution-such as may be ever and anon recognised in the history of man, and especially in the history of the Jesuits. Up to this time, the order counted 24' profess-houses,' 669 colleges, 176 seminaries, 61 houses of noviciate, 335 places of residence, and 273 missions in pagan and protestant countries; and, in all, 22,589 members of every rank, one half of whom were consecrated priests!!

Nor was their case any better in France. For here, too, where the minister Choiseul-Amboise, as well as Madame de Pompadour, were their inveterate enemies; the trade they had carried on in spite of papal rescripts, caused their ruin. Ever since the year 1743, they had, through their delegate, Father Lavalette, established a commercial house at Martinique, under the pretext of a mission, which almost monopolized the sale of the produce of this and the neighbouring West Indian islands. Two vessels, laden with cargoes to the value of more than three hundred thousand pounds, having fallen into the hands of English cruisers, the commercial house Lioncy, at Marseilles, to which Lavalette had assigned them,-and because the Jesuits refused to make an indemnification, commenced a lawsuit against them; the consequence of which, besides that they were condemned in the full amount, was the disclosure of many other abuses. Lorenzo Ricci, their general, refused to make the least change in their constitution; and a royal decree of 1764 abolished, in consequence, the order, as a purely political society. It was in vain that Pope Clement XIII. issued a bull, recommending the Jesuits as the most pious and useful of religious orders; no notice whatever was taken of it. The death of this pope, which followed soon after, the author tells us, raised the hopes of those princes bent on the destruction of the Jesuits.'

About three years later, they were expelled from Spain, Naples, Parma, and Malta. Respecting their expulsion from

Spain, Mr. Steinmetz says:

That they were suddenly and unexpectedly driven out of Spain by Charles III., a pious, zealous, most catholic sovereign, if history is to be credited.' This act took the Jesuits totally to windward-it mystified

even them; and to this day the motives that dictated their expulsion from Spain, remain inexplicable, if we may not believe the exclamation of the king, alluding to a frivolous revolt some time before, which the Jesuits suppressed so easily, that they were suspected of having fomented it. The king is said to have declared that if he had any cause for selfreproach, it was for having been too lenient to so dangerous a body;' and then, drawing a deep sigh, he added, I have learned to know them too well.'-Ib. p. 609.

Pope Clement XIV. pronounced their complete abolition in all Christian lands, in the bull Dominus ac redemtor noster,' on the 21st of July, 1773. The description given of this event is one of the best in the work under consideration. It is so graphic and powerful, that we cannot resist the temptation to give the whole of it :

The election of Clement XIV., which followed in due time, was affected by these princes (those bent on the destruction of the Jesuits). This is not denied by any party. The princes of the earth placed in the papal chair a man who was to fulfil a written promise to suppress the Jesuits. So the vicegerent of the Redeemer-the exponent of Councils over which the Holy Ghost presides-sold himself to a party, and the price was the honour of the pontificate.

'Ricci was the last general of the Jesuits before the suppression. If the accounts respecting the doings at Rome, during the period in question, be correct, that man was bitterly humbled by his former friends; still he exerted himself to his utmost in endeavouring to avert the ruin of his order; but failed. Ganganelli assumed the tiara; and after the most disgraceful tergiversations, displaying a degree of weakness that would cover the pettiest prince of Europe with scorn- —the Pope of Rome condemned the Jesuits-the Pope did this-compelled by the kings of the earth, whom his predecessors had trampled to the dust! Here was a retribution indeed! The breve of suppression was ready on the 21st of July, 1773, and began with the words, Our Lord and Redeemer !'

'Dread must have been the anxiety of the Jesuits whilst that conclave was proposing their destruction! If the authorities of Count Alexis de Saint Priest be true, (he seems to be an impartial historian), the last struggles of the Jesuits were truly systematic, that is, in accordance with the theory by these pages unfolded.

Father Delci started for Leghorn, with the treasures of the order, intending to transport them to England; but Ricci stopped the pusillanimous flight.

The fortune of Cromwell was decided, the star of Napoleon was made a sun, by that supernatural boldness inspired by the emergency of life or death! Ricci put forth his character, or rather, he rose with the occasion. Anxious, disturbed, he was seen hurrying from place to place; one while mingling in the numerous bodies of the Guarda Nobile, the pompous escort of the dinners of the cardinals, which are carried through the city in rich litters; at another time, mixing in the

groups of the grave Transtevirini, or the motley crowds of cattle-drivers and peasants assembled from the Sabine territory, Tivoli, Albano, and every part of the Pontine marshes, to witness the grand ceremony. At daybreak Ricci was on foot, traversing every quarter of the city, from Ponte Mola to the Basilica of the Lateran. The Jesuits de consideration (so styled in a contemporary document), imitating the example of their chief, were continually engaged in paying visits to the confessors and friends of the cardinals; whilst loaded with presents, they humbled themselves at the feet of the Roman princes and ladies of rank. Nor was all this attention superfluous: the current of public favour had already been diverted from the Jesuits; and, amongst other fatal prognostics, the Prince de Piombino, a partisan of Spain, had withdrawn from the use of the general, the carriage which his family had for more than a century placed at his disposal.' The last general of this redoubtable society threw himself at the feet of the cardinals, and in tears, 'commended to their protection, that society which had been approved by so many pontiffs, and sanctioned by a general council- the Council of Trent he reminded the cardinals of his services, and claimed the merit of them, without casting blame upon any court or cabinet. Then, in an under tone, and in the freedom of secret conference, he represented to the princes of the church, the indignity of the yoke which these courts were attempting to impose upon them.' But the honour of the popedom was sold and bought; Judas, the Iscariot, with the price of blood in his hands, not Peter in repentance, was now to be the papal model!

Joseph 11. of Austria would be present at Rome on that pregnant occasion. On this straw of royalty the Jesuits fondly relied: he stooped to insult the men who could not resent the injury! He paid a visit to the Gran Gesu, a 'house' of the order, and a perfect marvel of magnificence and bad taste. The general approached the emperor, prostrating himself before him with profound humility. Joseph, without giving him time to speak, asked him coldly when he was going to relinquish his habit? Ricci turned pale, and muttered a few inarticulate words; he confessed that the times were very hard for his brethren, but added, that they placed their trust in God and in the holy father, whose infallibility would be for ever compromised, if he destroyed an order which had received the sanction and approval of his predecessors. The emperor smiled, and, almost at the same moment, fixing his eye upon the tabernacle, he stopped before the statue of St. Ignatius, of massive silver, and glittering with precious stones, and exclaimed against the prodigious sum which it must have cost. 'Sire,' stammered the father-general, this statue has been erected with the money of the friends of the Society.' 'Say, rather,' replies Joseph, with the profits of the Indies.

'Clement XIV. died. Very suspicious symptoms attended his death; he was probably poisoned; but I can find no proof that the Jesuits promoted the crime, though such is the implied accusation. Nay, Ricci, the general, is said to have visited the prophetess' who foretold the pope's death!

What motive could the Jesuits have for desiring the pope's death? I discard the idea of mere revenge, but was there hope in the probable

successor? This is the most dismal page of their history; if guilty of all the alleged crimes and misdemeanours, they became doubly so by their humiliations-such is the world's judgment.'-Vol. iii. p. 612.

This measure was everywhere carried into effect with much violence and extraordinary rapidity. The most important legal documents, however, and large sums of money, had been previously removed, so that their archives and treasures did not answer the expectations of the authorities and the public. No further injury was done to the ex-Jesuits, except that they were obliged to leave their 'houses,' put aside the dress of their order, renounce all connexions with each other, and had either to join other monastic orders, or to place themselves under the surveillance of the bishops of the dioceses. From the amount of their confiscated property, the Jesuits received annuities in almost every country, except Portugal and Spain. In these they were not even permitted to reside; whereas they were tolerated in the capacity of private individuals in the Papal States, Upper Italy, Germany (where they were most leniently dealt with at their dissolution), in Hungary, Poland, and even in France. Frederick 11., it is true, did not agree in the then prevailing notion. They had, nevertheless, to give up in the Prussian dominions their constitution, and the habiliments of the order, and to confine themselves to the education of the youth, under the special name of Priests of the Royal School-Institution.' However, even this institution was abrogated by Frederick William 11., and Russia became the only country left them. From that empire they had been banished, under Peter the Great, in the year 1719, but many of their houses were once more incorporated with the eastern part of Poland, in 1772. The Empress Catherine tolerated them even after their banishment; and owing to the favour of Czernitshev and Potemkin, they obtained permission, in the year 1782, to elect a vicargeneral.

Matters had, in the meanwhile, changed at Rome, greatly to their advantage. Clement XIV. died in 1774, and his successor, Pius VI., proved a friend of the Jesuits, who, although suppressed, were very far from being extinct. They had willing and active friends in every rank of society, in consequence of which, important offices both in educational institutions and in the church were entrusted to them. Out of Italy, there were in the year 1780, about nine thousand Jesuits, who, according to the prevailing notion, still retained, though secretly, connexion with their superiors. They are, moreover, said to have had a share in Rosicrucianism, and in the plans of the Illuminati. In consequence of this, they were exposed (especially in Germany) to repeated attacks of the press and the pulpit. However,