their power, to rescue him from the claws of the holy fathers; but being at a loss, they consulted a friend on the subject, who observed that, in the Holy Roman Church, there were two ways of appeasing the anger of God-first, by penitence; secondly, by giving alms to the priests; and this last expedient he esteemed the best, as, by filling the purses of the pious prelates, they could free their son from the obligation of making penance, and restore him to liberty. His parents followed this advice, and going to the holy office, offered, in alms, several thousand scudi, to be given, provided their son was set at liberty. But the prelates observed, that by giving the alms, and leaving their son in his present holy retreat, they would acquire far greater merit, and both them and their son would be entitled to Paradise. As this, however, was only a work of supererogation, they were at liberty to do as they pleased. The parents of the prisoner granted very willingly to the prelates the truth of what they said, and gave them thanks for their kind concern in behalf of their souls, candidly avowing they had not sufficient holy grace to do such a meritorious action at present, but they would pray to God for force to do so at any other time when an occasion offered. The prelates promised to join their prayers to the same effect, and in the mean time restored their son to liberty, upon condition that they should make him pass as a madman or a fool, and that he never should attempt to put in doubt the power of the saints, priests, images, &c. These conditions being submitted to by the parents, they returned home with their son, and lived very

piously, fearing all priests and statues, and waiting for their reception in Paradise through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and Saint Anthony.-Times, Sept. 21, 1826.

MIRACLE AT COLOGNE.

An article, dated Cologne, October 27, 1822, in a German Paper, says :-" The Magistrates of the town of Neuss have announced in the public prints, that, in consequence of a report of a pretended miracle in the Church of Zons, thousands of persons have come to that town to see this miracle, either from mere curiosity or religious motives; the Grand Vicar of Aix la Chapelle has therefore ordered the image of the Holy Virgin to be removed from that Church, the crown of that image having been stated to emit small flames, according to the accounts spread by persons, the dupes of their own imagination, and by others who wished to sport with the public credulity."

WATER FROM THE RIVER JORDAN.

A special messenger has arrived in Paris from Palestine with a cargo of water from the river Jordan, which he was sent to fetch, for the purpose of baptizing the young Duc de Bordeaux!!-Morning Chronicle, Jan. 4, 1821.

FANATICISM OF PRINCESS LOUISA.

She was the daughter of Louis XV.; at the age of thirty-three she became disgusted with a court, and enamoured of a convent. She accordingly entered among the Carmelites of St. Denis, and died Prioress of it in 1787. She seems to have there conducted herself with the utmost humility, or rather with the most heroic self-abasement. As a postulant, she had her functions to perform, which they, the nuns, would have exempted her from, but she would not allow it. "Such, for instance, as scraping and rubbing the floors, cleaning the candlesticks, washing the dishes, and some other offices more disgusting: but the princess would not yield to any body, what she called, her rights. One day, when a sister would not let her clean the candlesticks, Pray, let me do it,' said she to her." Upon another occasion, she insisted upon washing the dishes in the kitchen, &c. She, therefore, put on a silk bed-gown of rose colour, which she had got from court expressly for the purpose; " and having cast her eye on a dirty kettle, she laid hold of it, and wishing to make it clean without as well as within, she began to rub the outside; she turned it over and over again all ways, scratched her hands, and made her silk gown as black as the kettle." The sisters, with merriment, told her they only scoured the inside of their dirty kettles. "I should never have suspected it," replied she. Upon another occasion, 66 a postulant, lately come to the convent, was in her mistress's cell, when a lay sister came

in the latter, who had just finished her work in the poultry-yard, did not smell very savoury, which seemed to make some impression on the young person. Princess Louisa, having taken notice of it, told her, Do you not reflect, dear sister! that such perfumes offered up to God, are as precious and valuable as any other?' One day they presented the Princess with a bit of bread, which had been served to the noviceship, and had visible marks of dirt upon it, from eggs and beet-roots: the Princess viewed it, saying, 'Truly this does not excite the appetite' she ate it, adding, with a smile, This, after all, cannot poison a Theresian.'" At length the king, her father, being upon the point of death, "Princess Louisa, ever occupied with the salvation of his soul, sent him a crucifix, a present which she had received from the Pope, desiring that, when put in his hands, he should be informed that the indulgencies in articulo mortis were annexed to it." The king, however, died, and she continued Superioress; but the continual apprehensions of "having said a word which might have given trouble to any of the Nun Carmelites, and her delicacy in this regard was so great, that sometimes some of the nuns saw her at their feet, and begging their pardon, without knowing themselves what it was for." Her wardrobe, too, was rather scanty: "She had but one single gown'; when there were any holes in it, she mended them. During seventeen years, that she was a Carmelite, she wore out only three habits! her stockings were made of coarse cloth, and her slippers of packthread. As to her diet, "any thing was suitable to her

taste, and this to such a degree, that when the nuns meant to give any dish a bad name, they said that mother Theresa, of Saint Augusta, could not eat it. Sometimes the fish was so spoiled, that the smell alone was enough to disgust; but Princess Louisa left no part of her's." She said, "that she had many thanks to return to the Almighty for having given her an appetite which nothing could disgust." Again, when any of the sisters were ill, the Princess "for months together, and in several times of the day, cleansed, dressed, and even kissed the most loathsome sores, the mere sight of which was enough to strike a person with horror and disgust."

Thus far have we extracted from a work, doubtless put forth among thousands of others, by weak and wretched priests, to forward the ends of monastic institutions. Here is a specimen of superstition and folly in its grossest colour; all the scenes of misplaced humility are reported with disgusting minutiæ, and the most childish trifling reported with all the grave solemnity of pious dissertation.-Life of Princess Louisa, daughter of Louis XV., aunt of Louis XVI., a Carmelite Nun, 2 vols. 12mo. 1808.

A POSITIVE FACT.

"At the Escurial we were shewn the body of one of the Innocent Children massacred by Herod, and some coagulated milk of the Virgin Mary.”—Doblado's Letters from Spain, 8vo. 1802.