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his wonderful "Crucifixion of St. Peter." No aërial colouring here. The fifth room has a noble picture of Nicolas Poussin, "the martyrdom of St. Erasmus”—and St. Thomas, by Guercino. The blessed Michelene of Barroche, formerly in the church of St. Francis, at Pesaro, is Piety embodied; and such is the excellence of the Martyrdom of St. Processa and Martiniene," by Valentino, that one cannot remain near it.

Raffaello's beautiful " Madonna di Foligno" had likewise a journey to Paris; but now adorns the sixth room, with the very striking " Madalena del Guercino."

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CHAPTER XXI.

Prisons-St. Angelo-Pomponio, Algieri-The Armenian CatholicThe Pope-Common Prayer Book-The exposure of the Dead.

PRISONS.

As often as we passed the bridge of St. Angelo, my mind reverted to the scenes that had taken place beneath that huge round tower, and my eye sought beyond the Tiber the Leonine prison-the horrid cells of the Inquisition—while all the horrors with which our minds are familiar at a distance, recurred to our imaginations. In vain did I ask of Italians where state and ecclesiastical prisoners were immured? I could hear of no prisons but St. Angelo and the Capitol.

There appears always to have been this difference in managing the Inquisition of Rome, and that of Madrid;the one seeking to terrify by the numerous victims of the autos da fè,-the other, to horrify by the secrecy of its movements. We are told that, in "the time of Paul IV., the Inquisition spread terror in Rome. Pius IV. (in lieu of the Inquisition prison, destroyed in the time of Paul IV., and in which some of our own countrymen were confined) appropriated an inquisition house beyond the Tiber, and added cells." This must have been very near St. Peter's, as it is stated to have been on the Circus of Nero. "Two travellers were seized, and thrown in here, in

1565, and detained as heretics; and obtained their liberty only through the Imperial Ambassador, who declared, that the agents of Rome in Germany should be treated in the same way. Pompeio di Monti, a Neapolitan nobleman, who had been seized by the familiars of the Inquisition as he was passing the bridge of Saint Angelo on horseback, and a relative of his, were thrown into the same prison, and received mutual support. Di Monti was strangled, and his body afterwards committed to the flames."

Pius the Fifth, in 1566, as president of the Inquisition, committed unheard of cruelties; and every day, at Rome and elsewhere, many were imprisoned and burnt. Amongst others, we are told of one Carnesecchi, who was put to death with great secresy. He was a Florentine of good birth, possessing a fine person and quick judgment, with great dignity of manners; and he was both discreet and generous. He was secretary to Clement the Seventh, and had two abbacies. At Naples, he formed an intimacy with Valdez, and adopted the reformed doctrines. In 1566, he was cited to Rome: the matter was for that time accommodated, but he found it necessary to quit Italy, and was excommunicated by Paul the Fourth. On the accession of Pius the Fifth, he retired to Florence. The pope

despatched his master of the sacred palace to Cosmo, with a flattering letter, requesting him to deliver up Carnesecchi. When the officer arrived and delivered his letter, Carnesecchi was sitting at table with the Grand Duke, who, with base pusillanimity, delivered his guest to this cruel herald.

The same author mentions " Pomponio Algiere, a native of Nola, in the kingdom of Naples, who, whilst attending at the university of Padua, was seized and sent

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bound to Venice. His fame had been spread through Italy, and the senators of Venice were anxious to set him at liberty; but they yielded at length, and he was doomed to be sent to Rome, where he was burnt alive in the twentyfourth year of his age."

The following letter, written from his prison at Venice, is a beautiful exemplification of the power of faith:-"To allay the grief you suffer on my account, I am anxious to impart to you a share of my consolation. I have found honey in the mouth of the lion; pleasantness in a dismal pit; soothing prospects of life in the gloomy mansions of death; joy in an internal grief! when others weep I rejoice; when others tremble I am strong; the most distressing situation has afforded me the highest delight; solitude an intercourse with the good; and galling chains afforded me rest. The prison is severe indeed to the guilty, but sweet to the innocent-distilling on one side dew and nectar; on the other, milk and abundance of good things. This is indeed a desert place and wild, but to me a spacious valley-the noblest spot on earth. Here I view Mount Zion; Jesus stands in the front, and around are the patriarchs, prophets, evangelists, apostles, and all the servants of God. Can I be said to be alone? Here I find an intercourse that affords me example as well as comfort: for in that circle I behold the spirits of those who were crucified; some slain; others stoned and sawn asunder; some roasted; others fried in brazen vessels; one whose eyes were dug out; another with his tongue cut off; some who were thrown into the fiery furnace; others left a prey to ravenous birds.

"This is not my fixed habitation: I go to the new Jerusalem. I have entered upon a path which conducts

me to a pleasant dwelling, and where I doubt not to find wealth, and honour, and relations, and pleasures. Amidst earthly enjoyments (all of them shadowy and fading, and vanity of vanities, without the substantial hope of a coming eternity), which the supreme Lord was pleased to bestow upon me, these relations have been my solace. I have burned with heat and shuddered with cold; I have earnestly watched day and night; and now these struggles are come to a close. The Lord has filled me with joy and peacefulness.

"Oh! how pleasant is that death, which gives me to drink of the cup of God. As to what they say of the Venetian senators, extolling them as most august, wise, and just, and pious, I give all that its due weight; but after all we ought to obey God rather than man. I grant that they are august, but they require to be perfected in Christ.

"They are humanly just; but the foundation and seat of justice is wanting―Jesus Christ. They are in some sort wise; but where in them is the beginning of wisdom?— the fear of God? They are called illustrious; but they have not yet received the Saviour—the Lord of Glory!

"From the delectable garden of the Leonine prison, 21st July, 1533. From the bound Pomponius Algiere*."

It is really delightful thus to hear the voice of gladness ascending from the dens and pits of the earth: but it is not to distant ages alone we must look to perceive the cruel hand of persecution. In some miserable cell, one victim of superstition and despotism is known still to suffer. An Armenian Catholic, belonging to some religious order, See M'Crie's Reformation in Italy.