diffused a corresponding warmth through the air, which the frost without could not chill; for no one could feel cold beneath its genial glow. It gave a softness and beauty to the commonest objects; the rude memorials of benefits received that hung around, and the poor paintings which adorned the upper parts of the walls, had their imperfect details concealed, and their more prominent features. brought out in a subdued tone, that made them look like masterpieces of art; and countenances which by day looked stern, by this mild light, were gentle and engaging. But it was on the inward feelings that its kindliest influence was shed. It seemed to kindle in the breast a holy light like unto itself, beaming, serene and soothing, over its disturbed affections, subduing pride and loftiness of spirit, calming anger, engentling austerity, and smoothening the folds of the crafty thought. It unruffled, it mildened, it melted the soul, and fitted it for tender and gentle emotions."—Pp. 7—11.

The meditation of Marie in affliction, kneeling before the Sanctuary Lamp.

"She thought of the desolate home which awaited the blessed Mother of our Lord as she descended from Calvary; the joyless board, the cheerless chamber, the restless couch, prepared for her after a day of anguish and of blight. There, comparing sorrow with sorrow, how trifling appeared her own afflictions beside Her's! There, eyes that fall on garments sprinkled from the wine-press, trodden that day, of God's justice; there, ears that yet ring with the clang of the hammer, forcing nails through the quivering flesh; there, a heart pierced through with a sword of grief, panting to its core with the keenest of maternal sorrows; there, body and soul staggering under a weight of anguish that would have crushed a frame of iron and a mind of adamant, but can be borne up by Her unresisting patience. And in the thought of such an ocean of sorrows, how small a drop did those appear to that child of grace, which the heavenly Father had allotted her! And now, after each kind friend that has accompanied this sovereign Lady to Her humble home has departed, she sees Her left at last alone in the silence of night, with the lamp (fed perhaps from the garden of Gethsemani,) beaming upon Her pale countenance, on which that day has written more of woe than years had traced before, glittering in tear after tear, as it trickles from Her dimmed celestial eye, watching alone beside Her, sole thing that cheers and sheds a ray of comfort through the dreary chamber and the drearier heart. And, in her childish thoughts, she blessed that pale and trembling light which then gave Mary comfort; and felt as though the little flame above her, shining now upon her and upon the sacred representation of that Queen of sorrows before her, were the faithful representative and descendant of that which then lighted up and cheered Her sanctuary and home. Its calm twilight thus exercised its soothing influence on the inno

cent child's spirit, and associated her afflictions with the holiest that earth had ever witnessed. She felt as though she suffered in company with the noblest and blessedest among women; and the total darkness which had before overspread her soul, was lighted up by a cheering ray, mild, serene, and pure, as that which tempered the shadows of night within that sanctuary. She felt that she could return to her desolate home, with resignation at least, after what she had contemplated."-Pp. 17-19.

ART. V.-Rome, Ancient and Modern, and its Environs. By the Very REV. JEREMIAH DONOVAN, D. D. 4 volumes, 8vo. Rome: 1845.

E rejoice in the opportunity now afforded us of introducing an old acquaintance to the British Catholic public. We have said an old acquaintance, because we are sure there are few Catholics in these kingdoms that have not become acquainted with the author of the present work through the medium of his excellent translation of the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and fewer still who have not admired the elegance and fidelity with which he has transferred to another language the spirit of the original. Necessitated by ill health to resign his professorship in the College of Maynooth, he has been, for several years, experiencing the advantages of a sunnier sky and balmier climate than his own; and we find, in the volumes before us, that these years have been neither idle nor unprofitable, and that his pen has been engaged in a task worthy of even its highest aspiration-for what higher or nobler theme could an author choose than "Rome, Ancient and Modern, and its Environs?" Rome, that for more than two thousand years has been the seat of empire, the wellspring of knowledge, and the centre of religion to the earth; which the poet, the orator, and the historian have made the subject of their eulogy, leaving still the subject new; to which, even in decay, the far-off pilgrim turns with a fonder and more reverential feeling than ever urged along the Appian or Flaminian Way any home-returning

exile, when, after years of absence, his longing eye discerned the golden roofs of the Capitol in the distance; and which--but, in the enthusiasm of the theme and the moment, we forgot that we can lay no claim to the inspiration of the orator or the poet, and that an humbler duty is that which devolves on us upon the present occasion; we are not to say what we ourselves, but what others have felt and seen, and with the calm, dispassionate performance of that duty, it is only the sober judgment and sterner faculty of reason that have anything to do.

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It is a remarkable circumstance, that the best books on Rome, accessible to the English reader, have been written by clergymen of the Catholic church, and both professors in the college of Maynooth-nay, in the very same department. We allude to Eustace, author of the Classical Tour through Italy," and the Rev. Dr. Donovan. We have had Tours and Travels, Letters and Correspondence, issuing year after year from the press; but, whatever may have been the pretensions of those whose names they bore, we venture to affirm that the Classical Tour in Italy has not lost its utility, nor been in the least disturbed from that high rank which the approbation of the literary world has awarded it. "Rome, Ancient and Modern," will, we are confident, secure for its author a place near that of his gifted predecessor. However similar may be the subjects treated by both, there is no danger of clashing or competition, and though labouring in the same field, and working almost on the same materials, each has raised for himself an edifice peculiarly his own. The man

of taste and learning will linger over the pages of the classic Eustace with delight; and whether he has ever journeyed, or ever means to journey through the regions he describes, will be pleased and benefited by the perusal; but the work before us will not only please on a private perusal, but be the companion of the traveller upon his journey. If the tourist aspires to anything better than the gratification of a mere idle curiosity if he purposes to turn his visit to advantage, and enjoy the high intellectual treat of becoming acquainted, by personal examination, with the memorials of former greatness, and the master-pieces of modern times, we venture to affirm that the volumes of Dr. O'Donovan must prove valuable accessions upon his journey. The opportunities enjoyed by him of a personal and minute inspection-an intimate acquaintance with the

language of modern Italy, as well as with the literature of ancient times-and a residence of several years amid the objects he describes, have abundantly fitted him for the task he has undertaken. And we accordingly find that minuteness of detail, and accuracy of information-that laborious research, and pains-taking investigation, which occasionally, we must confess, tedious and dry in the perusal, must be in the highest degree acceptable to him whose good fortune it is to go about, book in hand, from one object of interest to another, and who is determined to leave no nook or corner unexamined and unexplored. Something has been done in this respect by others; but we believe that, until the appearance of the present work, no detailed and satisfactory account has appeared in our language. What our author professes to do, we will permit him to explain in his own words :

"This work consists of four parts. The first of which contains a rapid historical sketch of the rise, progress, decline, fall, and revival of the city from its foundation to the present day: with notices, geological, statistical, political, and religious-a necessary preliminary to a clear and comprehensive delineation of ancient and modern Rome. The second part comprises a description of the modern city, its churches, palaces, museums, galleries, charitable institutions, hospitals, prisons, schools, colleges, universities, and other public establishments. The third part embraces the antiquities ranged for the most part in chronological order; and the fourth part conducts the stranger through the environs of Rome. Among the crowds who annually visit Rome, some will be found unfamiliar with classical antiquity, and the author has therefore premised to his description of the ancient monuments, a series of chapters on the origin, nature and use of temples, forums, basilicks, circuses, theatres, amphitheatres, aqueducts, baths, triumphal and monumental arches; on the domestic architecture of the Romans, and on their architecture in general; on the materials used for the purposes, on ancient sepulchres, obelisks, gardens, and roads. The work is, moreover, enriched with sixty-two copper-plate illustrations, engraved by an eminent Roman artist, Sr. Cottofavi, with strict attention to fidelity of design, as well as beauty of execution."-Preface, p. 7.

It will be seen, from this brief programme, what a vast field the author has chosen for his labours, and how many and various are the subjects treated of in the pages that are open before us. We wish to give some extracts, but know not where to begin. There are descriptions of

St. Peter's and St. Paul's, St. John Lateran's, and St. Mary Major's; but these are not new to our readers, and we know that the following will prove more interesting and attractive. It is a description of the Etruscan Museum, founded by the present pontiff.

"This museum, which rivals the Egyptian, is altogether the creation of the reigning pontiff, Gregory XVI. having been completed under his auspices in 1837. The locality which it occupies, consisting altogether of ten rooms, not including passages, had been part of the residence of the Cardinal Librarian, in the Belvidere palace, and exists from the time of Innocent VIII. The principal part of its treasures come from the necropolis of Vulci Tarquinia and other Etruscan cities in the neighbourhood of Civita Vecchia, and none of more than a day's journey from Rome. The excavations of which they are the fruit, are conducted as matter of private speculation, and the only restrictions imposed, are, that the Papal Government should have the first choice of purchase; and may also forbid the sale of articles out of Italy. The excavations are in the hands of a few dealers, such as Capranesi, Campanari, Fossati, Basseggio, or of eminent collectors, such as the Cav. Campana and Prince Canino. Within the last twenty years ancient Etruria, which includes that tract of country between the Tiber and the Armenita, now the Fiora, has attracted the attention of the learned and curious of every civilized country. The materials on which learned industry has to exert itself are still on the increase; and the present pope, who first conceived the idea of collecting together in one locality, these precious remains of antiquity and art, found within his dominions, is entitled to the gratitude of every admirer of antiquity. Active and vigilant in his high and holy station, in presiding over the councils of the Catholic world, he has devoted, and still devotes, many of his intervals of leisure to his favourite museum, and he merits no ordinary eulogy for the zeal, taste, and liberality evinced in the selection, distribution, and allocation of these records of the ancient world. They consist of various articles in gold, silver, bronze, ivory, bone, in painting, sculpture, and architecture, and constitute so many connecting links between the monuments of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, bearing unequivocal testimony to the civilization and refinement of a people who flourished centuries before the foundation of the city of Romulus. The habitations of the living disappeared under the destroying influence of time, devastation, and barbarism, but those of the dead remained intact, and from them has issued a solemn voice inviting us to turn for a moment from the works of the Republic and the Empire, and contemplate in these precious remains the palpable proofs of the primitive civilization of Italy before the Romans. A new light has thus risen to dissipate the darkness of centuries, and to enable the antiquary of a future day