11 SEPTEMBER 1847, Page 16

SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

Taavgis, Notes of a Residence at Rome in 1846. By a Protestant Clergyman, Rev. M. Vicary,

B.A Bentley. NATURAL Burney, '

Illustrations of Instinct, deduced from the habits of British Animals. By Jonathan Couch, F.L.S., Member of the Royal Geological Society, &c Van Voorst.

STATIATics,

The New Navy List, and General Record of the Services of Officers of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Conducted by Joseph Allen, Esq., R.N. ... Parker.

VICART'S NOTES OF A RESIDENCE AT ROME.

MORE of interest and information than might be expected from a subject so often treated as Rome, are given to these Notes of a Residence, by

the character of the writer, and the topics to which his profession directed

his attention. In addition to the sound learning and sensible view of things—the mixture of book lore and worldly knowledge, which the English

Universities furnish to those who are fitted to receive it, the Reverend M. Vicary possesses a taste in art, and displays a liberal and enlightened spirit, without running into the mere cant of Liberalism. In religious matters be is indeed strenuously opposed to the superstitions and idolatries of Popery; but he does not allow his zeal against the system to destroy the critical power of justly estimating individuals ; and perhaps his objections to Romanism are as much owing to the temporal consequences which he considers to have flowed from the Papal Government, as to religious views. He looks tenderly on the ancient Pagan superstitions; and speaks with praise of the modern Hebrews, though in a religions sense a Romanist is surely to be preferred to a Jew.

This mixture of scholar and man of the world, joined apparently with some knowledge of business, has directed Mr. Vicary to observe the prac- tical life of Rome, as well as to look upon the arts of the past or the mere surface of society, and given a solid character to his matter. The main peculiarity of his book, however, is derived from his profession, which has not only induced him to look at things with a clerical eye, but has principally directed his notice to clerical matters either immediately or in their results. The various grades of the clergy, from the Pope to the Capuchin, attract his attention, in their organization, education, dress, discourse, and behaviour. The ceremonies of the Church are viewed and described, but with greater unction and deeper consideration than the external pageant. Churches, and more of them than the common tourist enters, are examined, together with the monuments and works of art they contain ; but they are not only looked at with the eye of a tour- ist or a critic—our author considers them in their religious character, -with their influence upon religion and the popular mind. The institu- tions for the education of the clergy, the workings of a purely clerical government, and many other subjects of a practical kind, such as rarely engage the attention of rapid and writing travellers, are also examined by Mr. Vicary. And these, besides giving novelty to the topics of the book, are discussed in a close and manly manner. There is nothing of the schoolboy or the pedant in Notes of a Residence at Rome ; and if there is a good deal of the Protestant there is little (directly) of the priest. The strongest trait is a species of grave pulpit kind of joke, with touches of covered but severe sarcasm.

The matter of the volume is set off by a close, clear, and scholarly style, sustained rather by the mind of the author than by the art or knack of the litterateur. Something of the sermon-writer is visible in the mat- ter of the argument where any point connected with religion turns up, as well as in the manner in which a question is often pursued and improved; but the scholarly closeness of the composition prevents it from becoming tedious. Mr. Vicary has also a touch of rhetoric, but sober, and under the guidance of a severe taste : there is nothing about him of what the ladies call "flowery." The commonplaces of the "theme" are there, but condensed and shaped with spirit if not with novelty. The following sentences on death are an example. They follow a description of Italian funerals, and some remarks in favour of relations leaving the corpse and its obsequies to the care of the clerical undertakers.

"When Death has seized his prize, all is over, our endeavours are at an end. The spirit we loved has passed to another world; the eye that looked upon RS is divested of its fire; the heart that beat for us, cold as the dew in the churchyard. It is but the wreck of the past, like a fallen leaf or a faded flower, divested of its tints and its perfume, which no heat of spring shall call again into life. It is not, therefore, necessary that we should accompany these dead relics with that regard and affection which are the heritage only of the living. On such occasions, the object that we loved could not be placed in better hands than in those of the Church."

The College of the Propaganda is often spoken of, but its precise cha- racter may not be so generally known. Mr. Vicary furnishes a clear and brief account of it.

"The College of the Propagation of the Faith is on an extensive scale. Its front extends towards the Piazza di Spagna. In the construction, accommoda- bon has been consulted rather than ornament. Here there are professors of al- most all languages, in which young men are instructed for the ministry, and sent upon foreign missions. The wealth of this college is unbounded; and it is all ex- pended for the purpose of increasing the confines of the Church. A Cardinal re- sides in the house, and is Prefect or president, with a long string of officers under him. The scholars vary from two to four hundred, and are of all nations. I have seen Jews of Asia Minor, Africans, and even a Chinese, in the academical dress—a long gown with a red border. I attended a rehearsal, which takes place upon every Epiphany, in the theatre. The youths had each a written subject, which they in their turn read aloud to the audience. The number of languages, to which some dialects were, however, added, was forty-nine. Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Hebrew, Irish, were among the number. They acquitted themselves well, and showed how perfect is that system of education which is pursued in the establishment. When they are complete masters of the language, and have re- ceived orders, they proceed upon their mission; and, as they are generally accom- plished men, they are no doubt successful. "This College has ever been the favourite of the Popes, and the great engine of conversion. It was established for the very purpose of supplying a superior class of ministers, not so much to combat the positions of the Reformers, as to counterbalance the inroads they have made upon the Church, by fresh accessions in other lands. Hence, India and the Pacific are supplied from this source; and, from their knowledge of the tongues of the people to whom they are sent, joined also to an acquaintance with their character, we cannot be surprised if they are favourably received, and that the cause they have in hand progresses. I am sur- prised that we have not taken a leaf from their book, and este lished a similar in- stitution, and for a similar purpose. The idea is an admirable one: to have mi- nisters, as it were, of all nations, ready to take whatever post the exigency of the times or peculiar circumstances demand. The Jews gave greater heed to Paul when he spoke in Hebrew; and so will every new people listen with attention to the teacher conversant with their native language. The missionary often goes abroad and defers learning the language of the country until he has arrived with- in its limits; a method by which time is lost and trouble increased. The true plan is that of the Propaganda. The abilities of the pupil are consulted, and from an early age he is required to give his sole attention to one of the Eastern languages, so that he is able at length to express himself as fluently in that as in his mother tongue. They go upon their missions with ardour, and fearlessly make their way among savage and uncivilized people; as the past and present his- tory of this institution amply attests."

That they " make their way," and mostly with safety, is true ; that they are successful in conversions, is very questionable. The Romish Church may show a few converts around their stations, whose knowledge of Christianity is very scanty, and whose motives for professing it often very suspicions ; but they have no extensive flocks anywhere, and still leas have they succeeded in shaking the religious systems they have as- sailed so long.

PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD AT ROME.

Persons intended for the priesthood are dedicated to its service from childhood: their habits are thus early formed, and, by a long and rigorous education, they acquire the power of parting with every consideration' and place their pleasures and their hopes in the profession to which they look forward. The innocent re- creations, intended by nature as an exercise whereby body and mind receive equal accessions of strength, are pastimes of the world, and must not be shared by the embryo priest. It is amusing to see them, as they pass by youths of their own age, how anxiously. they look back upon them as they are engaged in their juvenile sports. The rigid rules to which they are restricted cannot banish the feeling of companionship from their breasts; and the voice of nature within them occasionally renders them deaf to the calls ofthe professor. From their earliest years, also, they are equipped in complete ecclesiastical dress: they are perfect parish-priests in miniature, with the black flowing robe, the slouched hat, and shoes adorned with white buckles. You might imagine them the priests of the Pigmean nation, who had sent them as emissaries to Rome. You meet them of various sizes, from the boy "just breeched" to the youth en- tering his twentieth year. It is wonderful how these children have acquired, even in their features and gait, the gravity of their order. As they pass you in the strada or piazza, from the air of dignity they assume and the look of consequence they bear, you can scarcely refrain from believing that they have not just concluded some service, or are hastening to their clerical duties. Even their parents and friends look upon "U piccolo pretre" with a sort of veneration. Although not anointed or admitted to orders, he is looked upon as "set apart" for the priesthood—as one that will hereafter withhold or dispense the vengeance of Heaven. He is preferred before his brothers; and in their views this dear tie is transferred from them, with its mutual regards, to their church.

Strong and habitual as these restraints are, it is a question worthy of considera- tion, whether the end in view is attained, and if the priests are equally qualified by study as by inclination for the ministry.

CARDINAL LAMBRUSCHDZI "A CHARACTER."

Larnbruschini was the Papal Prime Minister daring the reign of the late Pop's. Of the whole body of the Cardinals be is the most remarkable and striking. There are many that exceed him in years, for his age is only between fifty and sixty, but none in personal appearance. His carriage is erect and manly; his head fine and intellectual; he possesses an eye dark but fall of fire, bespeaking equally vigour and decision. The forehead is high and beautifully formed, indi- cating no want of mental faculty; his features are handsome, and lose none of their expression in the disfiguring dress he wears. In fact, every line of his face declares him a man to whom nature has given no ordinary ability, as it also tells that that endowment has been cultivated by study and education. He looks like one who has the cares of a state upon him; and I should say he was not unequal to the task. I have only seen him at the Sistine Chapel or at St. Peter's; and though on these occasions he was not inattentive to devotion, if I might judge from the expression of the face, the duties of his station and the demands of the Church were endeavouring to intrude upon and obtain some occupation of his mind. In fact, I pitied him when during the ceremony custom compelled him to kiss or embrace his neighbouring Cardinals, whose looks were so devoid of in- telligence, so diametrically opposite to his own. I can say with some confidence, from what I have seen of the man, that he discharged the various duties of his office with no less humanity than zeal; and that, though the encroaching and jealous policy of former centuries may not have been absent, its cruel or sangui- nary spirit had no place in his bosom. Lambruschini possessed the unlimited confidence of the late Pope: he was more than his Prime Minister—he was his Cabinet, his "alter ego." Gregory never en- gaged in any serious matter without having first availed himself of his advice; and instances are not wanting where he had failed to fulfil a promise, or had broken a pledged resolution, because it did not meet with the concurrence of his Minister. The Pope was a cautious and a timid man; and, though not devoid of penetration, felt the want of all those qualities which he found to his hand in his favourite Cardinal. Although in so high a position, he did not abuse it. There seemed to have been a reciprocal affection: the Pope's estimation of him was well known; and during the processions Lambruschini frequently used to turn, as it were, to see that his aged Sovereign and Bishop was duly attended and taken care of.

Lambruschini is decidedly patriotic, and has done more than any man in mo- dern times to repair the shattered edifice of Romanism. But it is a question whether his inflexible character is best calculated to promote the objects he has in view. The ground he takes is too high, and less adapted to the present aspect and position of the Roman Church than altered times and circumstances warrant: he forgets that Romanism is on the decline, and that the weakness if not the im- becility of age has beset her, while his policy and plans would become more the meridian of her strength. In the long disputes with Russia he never yielded; a ridiculous warfare with a potentate so powerful and energetic as the Czar. The front that he has generally opposed to France has been bold and uncompromising.

HOME WITHIN THE WALLS.

Modern Rome occupies but a small portion of the original city; it may be a fifth that is enclosed by the wall which still remains, though it is difficult upon this subject to speak with absolute certainty. The present city touches the wall only at the North, where it declines to the Tiber; but in some other points it does not approach nearer to it than two miles; the intervening space being mostly filled with vineyards or villas of the Roman nobles, which generally have ample grounds and gardens attached. The city is chiefly confined to the banks of the Tiber, which runs through it; but it is far larger and more populous on the North-east side. This is the quarter upon which stand the Foram, the Colosseum, and the palace of the Ciesars, as well as the chief monuments of Rome. Upon the opposite side lies the chief attraction of the modern city, the Church of St. Peter. There is a general aspect of desolation as soon as the frequented streets are left You do not find yourself in the country, but amongst old walls covered with ferns and weeds, and crumbling into further rain. Lofty gateways, retaining in the centre a mask or head, coarsely carved, and sometimes an inscription, remain in considerable number, leading no more to a sumptuous building, but serving as the entrance to a field planted with a few vines and reeds. Many an old pile meets the view; broken arches and prostrate towers, in many cases so dismantled as to be subjects of but little interest. The capitals of columns, friezes, and en- tablature.s, are of frequent occurrence. Almost every stone you tread on has its tale to tell, having been once in use: " nullum eat sine nomine serum." The peasants, meanly clad and few in number, enter the city, or return from market; while on the paved highways a few cars roll lazily along; or a Cardinal's carriage makes its appearance, the high colours of both it and the rider contrasting sadly with the graver hues which overspread the neighbourhood.

Although Rome is the subject of Mr. Vicary's pen, he has been in other parts of Italy, and sometimes draws examples from them to illustrate the topic he has in hand. The flagellation by the Virgin at Lucca is of this kind, and furnishes an example of the manner in which the author treats art in connexion with religion. His theme on this occasion, as on several other occasions, is Marian worship. "Leaving the square at Lucca, which contains the cathedral, built with alter- nate pieces of black and white marble, I entered a long and narrow street; and when I had traversed it for about half a mile, I suddenly came upon the ancient and massive church of San Martino. The church was undergoing some repairs, so I did not see it to the advantage that I could have wished. It contains some pictures by the old masters, several altars as usual, and a few monuments. But the object that struck me most, and deeply interested my attention, was a fresco painting on the West end, and on the outside. It so completely represents the effect and intention of the Roman Catholic religion, that I cannot forbear detail- ing it minutely here. 'The Virgin is represented inflicting corporal punishment upon the youthful Jesus. She holds a rod in her hand; with the other she holds the garments of the child. She is in the act of inflicting punishment. The child is in alarm, and its eyes are eagerly directed to St. Anna, the mother of the Virgin, in the background, entreating her intercession to escape the cruel ordeaL The look of the Virgin is not that of affection, but has the stern and harsh appearance which we might imagine a schoolmistress to have when en- gaged in a similar occupation. Under the picture is written, in very legible cha- racters, 'Jure matris rege filio.' "This picture is better executed than those which are generally to be found at the corners of the streets, or on the outside of the churches. It is the most re- markable, and in its subject one of the most daring, that I have seen, and con- tains within its compass much of the spirit that is infused into the Roman Catho- lic Church. Considering that the Saviour came into the world, and was born of a virgin,—that he took the nature of man upon him,—they infer that he was not only subject to the infirmities of that nature, but with its sorrows was liable also to its sins. The book of the Scripture was either closed, or told a tale to unwil- ling ears, that he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners'; and, of course, as be was free from the sins of human nature, he must have been also from the ynnishments with which earthly parents visit the violation of duty. We are told, indeed, 'that he was subject unto them,' and continued with them: but we hear from the same unerring authority, that his life was as spotless and per- fect even then as his source was undeniably holy and divine; for he daily in- creased in wisdom, and in favour with God and man.' But revelation was to be set aside, and reverence violated, to serve an object; and so we find the Virgin Mary here exalted at the expense of the Saviour. The awful reverence with which God dwelling in the flesh should be contemplated is here transferred altogether to another object. The argument which the representation is designed to inculcate, and the feeling they wished to produce on the mind of the beholder, was, that as mother she possessed more power than the Son, (He by whom all things were made,) and so, more than Him, was entitled to the regard, fear, homage, and wor- ship of the Christian world."

It will be seen that Mr. Vicary's observations were made under the reign of the late Pope ; and some of his remarks on politics and civil government are, as he confesses, not applicable to the present reign. They have, however, still an interest, and we believe that those in connexion with religion have more application than before. Of the patriotic objects of the present Pope there is no question, or of his secular prudence in putting himself at thehead of the movement as regards civil reforms with a view to render permanent the temporal power in the States of the Church. Religion is another matter. It may be questioned whether Romanism as it exists in the greater part of Italy will bear liberal insti- tutions or free discussion without some changes ; and when these are once begun there is no telling where they are to stop.