pamphlet, that it will secure us from all suspicion of forgery, or unfaithfulness in our statements. We come now to another period, which will afford an additional exemplification of the boasted motto of Rome" Semper eadem." After the excitement of the Barricades had subsided in Paris, and a new era of liberty began to dawn upon France, it was imagined by some of the "most Catholic" supporters of the new dynasty, that the throne of the citizen king might acquire some additional security, if the “turba mobilium," could be stirred up to some religious devotion; and it was considered the more necessary to put the machinery of Rome's better days" in motion, because the constitutional charter, which was henceforth to be a reality ("la charte sera desormais une verite"), had made no further provision for the supremacy of the Roman Catholic religion than it could receive for itself by a majority of the thirty-two millions. The Archbishop of Paris (for what we are about to relate could not have been done without his sanction) evidently thought the time had come when a trial might be made to arouse the spirit of religious indifference through France, and fix men's minds upon the twilight glory of the Roman Catholic Church. Mistaking, as Madame de Stael says of Arnold of Brescia, recollections of past times for hopes, a scheme was devised for "raising the wind" of devotion: the materials required were a young female, a vision, a patriotic Virgin Mary, and a series of miracles. And now we will allow the Abbè Le Guillon to tell us how this was accomplished:

"Towards the end of the year 1830, a well-born young female, a noviciate in one of those conservatories which are dedicated in Paris to the use of the poor and the sick. * * * Whilst in the midst of her fervour during her prayers, saw a picture representing the most Holy Virgin (as she is usually represented under the title of the Immaculate Conception), standing with open and extended arms: there issued from her hands rays of light like bundles, of a brightness which dazzled her; and amidst those bundles, or clusters of rays, she distin

guished that some of the most remarkable fell upon a point of the globe which was under eye. In an instant she heard a voice, which said, 'These rays are symbolical of the graces which Mary obtains for men, and this point of the globe on which they fall most copiously is France.' Around this picture she read the following invocation, written in letters of gold: 'O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.' Some moments after, this painting turned round, and on the reverse she (the Estatica) distinguished the letter M, surmounted by a little cross, and below it the most sacred hearts of Mary and Jesus. After the young girl had well considered the whole, the voice said, 'A medal must be struck, and the persons who wear it, and who shall say with devotion the inscribed short prayer, shall enjoy the very special protection of the Mother of God."

He

The Estatica of Paris now goes and relates the vision to her confessor, who regarded it as the mere effect of her juvenile imagination. Six months afterwards it was repeated, and the incredulous confessor gave no heed; but the third time (which was after the proper interval of another six months) the good man resolved to pay attention to the young noviciate, lest, he says, he might be displeasing her whom the Church justly names "the Refuge of sinners." took the first opportunity of laying this important matter before the Archbishop of Paris, who declared at once his opinion that the medal ought to be struck forthwith. The first persons who had the privilege to wear it were the Sisters of Charity, and afterwards numbers were distributed among the children of the schools under their inspection; and an immense supply was ready against the invasion of the cholera. "It was soon spread," the Abbe Le Guillon tells, "in all the provinces of France, and in many foreign kingdoms; in Switzerland, in Piedmont, in Spain, in Belgium, in England! in the Levant, and as far as China."

The Historical Notices" are the accounts of wonderful cures wrought by the touch of these medals. We shall

not weary our readers with the inconceivable folly set forth in those statements, which occupy 250 pages, and which for the most part resemble in style and sameness the letters written by grateful persons (real or imaginary) to Dr. Solomons, for his inestimable Balm of Gilead. Both the remedies appear to have been equally infallible and rapid; and the only difference to be observed in the records of the Balm of Gilead is, that instead of the most inveterate disease being cured by one medal, it was cured by one bottle.

We shall terminate this impudent pieces of religious quackery, written by an officiating priest, and gravely sanctioned with the imprimatur of the episcopal censors at Rome, in an Italian translation, by an additional extract:

"Finally," says our author, " from all parts we hear the most consoling facts. Priests full of the spirit of the Lord tell us, that these medals are reviving religious feeling in cities as well as country places. Vicars-General, who enjoy a well-merited consideration, as well for their talents as for their piety, and even distinguished Bishops, inform us that they have reposed every confidence in those medals, and they regard them as a means of Providence for awakening the faith which has slept so long in this our age.

We need hardly add to this tissue of fraud, blasphemy, and absurdity, that those distinguished priests, vicars-general, and learned prelates, with the archbishop of Paris at their head, and the imprimatur of the Vatican at their back, have failed in their speculation, and miscalculated their sacerdotal influence. The miraculous medals, with the Estatica," who first saw the vision, are consigned to oblivion; and, with the exception of a million of Protestants, who are beginning to inquire for the way of their forefathers, the male population of France, between the ages of fifteen and sixty, remains in its infidelity: and the female population below twenty-one continues to resort to the confessional. The majority of our readers, who perhaps have but little means of informing themselves respecting the practices of the Church of Rome,

although well informed in her theological theories, will doubtless exclaim, 'Is it possible that such barefaced imposture as is here described can be attempted in a country like France, in the nineteenth century, and under the government of Louis Philippe? Can these be faithful translations of extracts from works published by authority, and declared by the Pope himself to be worthy of credit? And, finally, are we to think that the contrivers of these pious frauds, or any men of common sense and common respectability, really believe such unmitigated absurdities? As to the miracles of St. Anthony of Padua, the scenes where they are laid, and the age of ignorance in which they were believed may explain the credulity, and save the sincerity of the devotees; but that men living in the midst of civilization, and with the means of correcting delusion and testing facts, should give credence to the miraculous powers of a medal, coined at the order of the Archbishop of Paris, is utterly inconceivable.' We have not been recounting the wonders said to have been performed by Estatic saints and martyrs of the dark ages, and which might be believed with the same simplicity as an elderly Scotch lady may now believe in second sight, or some of our rustics believe in the prophecies of a gipsy fortune-teller; but the believers we have to deal with, supposing them to be believers, are men living amongst us, and taking part in our legislative enactments, and filling our high offices, and having access to the presence of our most gracious sovereign; and if, for the sake of their mental reputation, we suppose them incapable of being so deluded, it would be a heavier charge against their truth and integrity than in Christian charity we should like to bring. Adopting for once the system of reserve, we have kept back the Tyrolese miracles, attested by such high authority, until now. The wonders performed by St. Anthony of Padua in 1230, and the cures effected by the Parisian medals in 1830, are nothing, compared with the living prodigies which my Lord Shrewsbury, and six other persons of equal veracity, went in incommodious carriages" to see near Trent. If our readers

have felt some difficulty in digesting the miracles we have related of the wondrous Anthony and the young noviciate, they must prepare themselves for something much more indigestible, when we introduce them into the chambers of the Estatica and the Addolorata. If they have strained at a gnat, we shall now have to request them to be kind enough to swallow a camel. But let the noble author of the " Letter," No. 1, introduce us to this scene of wonder; the letter is dated Munich, May 27th, 1841:

"On Thursday, the 20th May, being Ascension Day, we left Neumarkt, a post station about half-way between Trent and Botzen * and after travelling for about two hours, along an exceedingly rough road, we ascended to the large substantial village of Caldaro. Having brought letters from the Bishop of Trent to the clergyman of the place, we were very shortly introduced into the house, and into the chamber of the Estatica, accompanied by her confessor, and assistant priest of the dean. It was about eleven o'clock: we found her in her usual state of ecstasy kneeling upon her bed, with her eyes uplifted, and her hands joined in attitude of prayer, as motionless as a statue. She was dressed in white, with her head uncovered, but with very long flowing black hair, and there was much of elegance in her figure and grace in her attitude. Our first feeling,' adds this pious nobleman, was that of awe, at finding ourselves in the presence of so favoured a creature." "

. Our readers will now understand, that the Estatica of Caldaro is a young girl, living in a village of the Tyrolese Alps; her name is Maria Mörl, and she has the advantage of having one brother, a Capuchin friar at Bruniken, and a sister, an Ursuline nun at Clagenfurth; and we may add, before we open up the wonders of these fasting female Kavanaghs, that the Addolorata of Capriano is another young person, living in a village which may be reached from Neumarkt, "by a good active walker in three hours, and parts of the way may be done on a mule;" but for more wealthy pilgrims, who make their pious visits in carriages, a more ex

pensive route is pointed out, and our English party was obliged to travel full forty miles to pass from one to the other. We are assured that," as the bird flies, the interval between the Estatica and the Addolorata does not appear to exceed four miles." Our powers of admiration were put to the stretch when we had read one "favoured creature" living in ecstasy in those remote and mountainous regions; and we pictured to ourselves, after finishing the testimony of the Rev. Dr. Weedall (p. 15), crowds of devoted pilgrims running up these mountain passes to get to Caldaro: but that the same persons should be gratified with a second standing (we ought to say lying) miracle, within a three hour's walk, exceeded our utmost conceptions of the marvellous. We also admired the happy combination of the joyous and sorrowful, not two Estaticas and two Addoloratas, but one of each; producing the same kind of effect upon the devotional feelings of the faithful visitors, as the change. from Allegro to Penseroso in the best Italian music; and, finally, the propriety of the episcopal jurisdiction in which both those supernatural beings exist, connecting those "evidences of the truth of his holy religion, and so singular a manifestation of his power," with the memory of the Tridentine councils; and from those to the more remote tradition, the Catholic (Roman) Church.

We now return to the Estatica:-

"Though we all entered the room at once (a party of seven), accompanied by her confessor and the assistant, and all conversed together, yet though her eyes were wide open, she was most certainly wholly ignorant of our presence, and would probably have remained so for hours.

* She has been known to remain thirty-six hours together in the state and position in which we first saw her; and on Sunday it generally happens that she is raised off her knees, resting only on the tips of her feet, as if enjoying a nearer prospect of heaven, &c. Yet, with all this, it requires no effort, no noise, hardly any ostensible agency, to break the spell; a single touch whisper from her confessor, or any ecclesiastic with whom she is acquainted,

or

is sufficient to dissolve the charm completely and at once."

We may remark here, that a considerable portion of this wonder-working power is invested in her ecclesiastical acquaintance, and "a single touch or whisper from her confessor" has more effect than the united voices of seven laymen, of which one, we understand, was a Protestant. We dare not venture to extract the paragraph in page 9, of this extraordinary production, in which the Redeemer's sufferings are alluded to in a manner too shocking to be repeated; but we have the testimony of the Rev. Mr. Swarbrick, who appears to have been very regular in his attendance upon the Estatica for several days together. One Sunday morning, as the blessed sacrament was carried in procession through the street, she was in ecstasy during the whole ceremony; and Mr. Swarbrick observed, that she constantly marked the progress of the host through the town, by turning towards it as the needle turns to the pole. Indeed, sometimes the whole company present in the room, as Prince Licknowsky testifies in October. 1839, (page 10), have been astonished to see her moving round towards the window without any apparent reason; but upon further inquiry, it has been found "that the viaticum was passing on its way to the sick, without bell or chaunting, or any thing that could indicate its presence."

It appears from Görres' collection of mystical things, that this instructive, though supernatural perception of the presence of the blessed sacrament has been remarked by many holy persons. The Rev. Dr. Weedall, who enjoys a large share of the friendship of Lord Shrewsbury and Mr. Ambrose Phillips, contributes his testimony to this miraculous narrative, and does not omit to tell his lordship, in a very feeling letter, dated Brussels, Feast of St. Barnabas, 1841, both what he saw when he visited Maria Mörl, and what he did not see.

"Madame Chasser," he says (who by the bye lives in one of the best houses in Caldaro), "told me, that she had seen Maria Mörl raised up in the air, so far at least as only to touch the bed with the

very extremities of her feet. I was not privileged to see that, but the very manner in which she kneels seems an unearthly position.

"I beg to subscribe myself your lordship's obedient humble servant,

"HENRY WEEDALL."--(p. 15.) The Estatica of Caldaro has, moreover, the stigmata, which we will explain to our readers, if they will accompany us four miles, "as the bird flies," to pay a visit to the Addolorata.

"Having also brought letters from the Bishop of Trent to the pastor of the place, we readily gained admittance to the chamber of the Addolorata, as she is styled, and there found the stigmate in a state of the most painful reality, and perhaps more distinctly marked than they have ever yet been known in any human being."

The stigmata are marks on the hands and other parts of the body, which favoured saints are supposed to receive from heaven by rays of light, having force enough to puncture the skin:

“And in this instance the crown of thorns was as regularly and as distinctly marked across her forehead, by a number of small punctures, as if they had been pricked with a large pin; and the wounds appeared quite fresh, though no blood was flowing from them."-(p. 30.)

"At our request the clergyman asked her mother to uncover her feet, which she did, though with some small reluctance, when we found them in the same condition as the hands, with, however, this singular and surprising difference, that instead of taking its natural course" (we assure our readers we quote the words of the Earl of Shrewsbury, a peer of the realm) "the blood flows upward over the toes, as it would do were she suspended on the cross! We had already heard of this extraordinary deviation from the laws of nature, and were now happy to have an opportunity of verifying it in person.”—(p. 31.)

We shall now bring our extracts to a close, by adding a finished description of this poor Tyrolese peasant girl. A German physician, who had come into the neighbourhood expressly for the purpose of studying her case, assured the noble

author of the "Letter" that he had seen her face perfectly free from blood:

"He also testified to the singular circumstance of the sheets never being stained, not even from her feet, which are habitually covered with them, and from which the blood frequently flows. To this we ourselves bore witness when her feet were shown to us. The same is to be observed of the wound in her side, which of course is not shown to strangers, but which has been fully certified to exist. The blood flows frequently during the week, but much more copiously on the Friday, beginning about three in the morning, and ending generally about ten or twelve. There was a strong smell of coagulated blood in the room, though the window is wide open both night and day, winter and summer. This seems to be necessary, to abate the force of her sufferings; and in hot weather she finds considerable alleviation from being fanned. Indeed, she may truly be said to subsist upon air, for on the 15th of August next it will be eight years complete since she eat, drank, or slept! receiving nothing but the blessed sacrament during the whole of that period, and this alone has ever proved any sensible relief to her in her sufferings."-(p. 33.)

Now here is evidently a profane attempt to represent, in the person of a poor peasant girl, aided by the mother (probably both under priestly delusion) the actual sufferings of our Redeemer upon the cross; and that that awful mystery is hereby intended is manifest, both from the choice of a Friday for the chief display, and the circumstance of the hands and feet being exhibited as pierced, the side said to be wounded, but not shown, and the crown of thorns drawn out by puncture with pins upon the temples. A more awful specimen of blasphemy we do not recollect to have met with. Happy is it for us, that we live in a country where such a scene would not be permitted, and where the actors would undoubtedly be lodged as comfortably as was Bernard Cavanagh, the fasting man; and yet here is a nobleman, who represents the long line of the Talbots, has all the advantages of education, and we may add etiam in Senatum venit, looks with

a believing mind (for we cannot doubt it) upon this tissue of fraud and blasphemy, and has the courage to publish, in the Metropolis of Great Britain, in Bondstreet itself, the narrative of facts of which we have given extracts. No doubt Lord Shrewsbury and his friends saw these two fanatic or suborned females; but it is equally true they saw them entirely in the hands, and under the absolute authority of the priests. It never occurred to the awe-struck earl to touch the hands or feet of Domenica Lazzari, and to ascertain whether the smell of coagulated blood might not be the smell of some composition. The Protestant gentleman, who was one of his lordship's party, and "is willing to speak to the facts" attested in the letter, is not ready, we imagine, to state that he ascertained it was blood which stood in congealed drops upon the feet, without staining the sheets. Lord Shrewsbury says,

"A pious fraud, so ably conducted, would be a greater miracle than those which we see before us. If they who have not seen them should presume to advance such a supposition, in face of the testimony of all who have, let them explain to us by what exquisite jugglery, or for what object, so perfect a piece of deception could have been carried on with such unremitting success for so many years."

The noble writer, working up his mind to the pitch of triumph, says,

"It is thus that these two great and astonishing miracles are exhibited to the world. Will, then, the hardiest exclaimer against the veneration of the cross and the sacrifice of the mass dare to look upon the Estatica of Caldaro, and the prodigy of Capriana, and repeat those atrocious calumnies, with those revolting blasphemies, with which Catholic doctrine has been so often and so long assailed."

For our part, my lord, we are perfectly free from the charge of atrocious calumnies, for we can show your lordship the life of St. Anthony, and the history of the French medal from which we have quoted, and we have your own testimony to the wonders of these Tyrolese saints; and we can easily believe, that neither