The Fool, Vice, or Iniquity, was a character in the antient Mysteries. There is a Fool introduced among the persons at the Crucifixion, in the great window at the east end of King's College Chapel, at Cambridge. Thus, perhaps, All Fools' Day was set up by the common, or by scoffers, in opposition to, or ridicule of, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, which happen on the 1st and 2d of November in the opposite season of the year. APRIL 4.-MAUNDY THURSDAY. The ceremony instituted in commemoration of our Saviour's washing the feet of the apostles is still practised by the Pope at Rome, and is thus described by a modern writer :"There are thirteen instead of twelve; the odd one being the representative of the angel that once came to the table of the twelve that St. Gregory was serving. The twelve were old priests, but the one who performed the part of the angel, was very young. They were all dressed in loose white gowns, with white caps on their heads, and clean woollen stockings, and were seated in a row along the wall, under a canopy. When the Pope entered and took his seat at the top of the room, the whole company of them knelt in their places, turning towards him ; and on his hand being extended in benediction, they all rose again and reseated themselves. The splendid garments of the Pope were then taken off; and clad in a white linen robe which he had on under the others, and wearing the bishop's mitre instead of the tiara, he approached the pilgrims, took from an attendant Cardinal a silver bucket of water, knelt before the first of them, immersed one foot in the water, put water over it with his hand, and touched it with a square fringed cloth; kissed the leg, and gave the cloth, and a sort of white flower, or feather, to the man; then went on to the next. The whole ceremony was over, I think, in less than two minutes, so rapidly was this act of humility gone through. From thence the Pope returned to his throne, put on his robes of white and silver again, and proceeded to the Sala di Ta vola: the thirteen Priests were seated In the forenoon of this day, the effigy of our Saviour is laid in the sepulchre in many of the churches at Rome, and remains there till Saturday at midday, when he is supposed to rise from the grave, amidst the firing of cannon, blowing of trumpets, and ringing of bells, which have been carefully tied up ever since the dawn of Holy Thursday, to protect them from satanic influence. During these two days and nights, hundreds, clad in deep mourning, are continually kneeling in silence the most profound, and in devotion the most fervent, around the illuminated sepulchre of their crucified Redeemer, over which they weep in anguish of spirit. APRIL 5.-GOOD FRIDAY. The drama of the Tre Ore, or three hours of Christ's agony upon the cross, is performed in several of the churches at Rome, on this day, and generally lasts from twelve o'clock till three. The ingenious author of 'Rome in the Nineteenth Century' witnessed this ceremony as it was performed in 1817, in the church of S. Andrea delle Tratte, and thus describes it :- The upper part of the church is arranged like a theatre, with painted trees, and pasteboard rocks and thickets, representing Mount Calvary. A little way down, two Roman centurions, large as life, dressed in military uniforms, and mounted on pasteboard horses, flourish their pasteboard swords. Higher up on the mount, on three crucifixes, are nailed the figures of Christ and the two thieves; so correctly imitating life, or rather death, as to be taken for wax work. Catholics say, Christ spoke seven times upon the cross,* and at every saying a dagger entered the heart of the Virgin, who is therefore painted with seven daggers sticking in her breast, and adored as Nostra Signora de' sette dolori'—Our Lady of the seven Sorrows. The service of the Tre Ore is therefore divided into seven acts, between each of which there is a hymn. In every act, one of the seven set dissertations, upon the sette parole' of Christ, is read-or begun to be read by a priest, who goes on until his lecture is interrupted by the preacher, who breaks in upon it at whatever part he pleases with a sermon (as they call it), or rather a tirade, of his own, which seems to be extempore, but which is previously learnt by rote. These dissertations drawing to a close, and the three hours having nearly expired, Ecco il momento' cried the priest, and every body sank prostrate on the ground in tears; and sobs, and groans, and cries, and one loud burst of agony filled the churchEcco il momento! Già spira Gesù Cristo !-Già muore il nostro Redentore!-Già finisce di vivere il nostro Padre -(The moment is come! Now Jesus Christ expires! Now our Redeemer dies! Now our Father ceases to live!) 6 At length the preacher cried, "Here they come the holy men-to bear the body of our Redeemer to the sepulchre;' and from the side of the scene issued forth a band of friars, clad in black, with white scarfs tied across them, and gradually climbing Mount Calvary by a winding path among the rocks 6 APRIL 6.-EASTER EVE. Particular mortifications were enjoined to the earliest Christians on this day. From the third century, the fast was indispensable and rigid, being protracted always to midnight, sometimes to cock-crowing, and sometimes to the dawn of Easter-day; and the whole of the day and night was employed in religious affairs. On the day preceding Easter Sunday, it is the annual practice at Rome * The seven sayings of Christ are as follow: 3d. (To the Virgin-Mary,) SWoman! behold thy son!' 4th. 5th. 6th. I thirst.' It is finished.' 7th. 'Father! into thy hands I commend my spirit!' The body was made of pasteboard, extremely well painted for effect; it had real hair on the head, and it was so well executed, that even when closely viewed, it was marked with the agony of nature, and seemed to have recently expired. See Rome in the Nineteenth Century,' vol. iii, pp. 146-152; particularly pp. 148149, for some specimens of the very extraordinary eloquence used by the priest on this occasion. to procure two or more Jews, or Turks, to convert them to Christianity, and confer on them the rite of Baptism. The ceremony is thus described by a lively, and, we believe, accurate narrator of the religious ceremónies, manners, and customs, of the modern Romans, whom we have before quoted in our account of the Holy Week. "The two devoted Israelites prepared for this occasion, attired in dirty yellow silk gowns, were seated on a bench within the marble font of the Baptistery, which resembles a large bath, both in form and shape, conning their prayers out of a book with most rueful visages. Fast to their sides stuck their destined god-fathers, two black-robed doctors of divinity, as if to guard and secure their spiritual captives. The antjent vase at the bottom of the font, in which, according to an absurd legend, Constantine was healed of his leprosy by St. Sylvester, stood before them filled with water, and its margin adorned with flowers. The Cardinal Bishop, who had been employed ever since six o'clock in the benediction of fire, water, oil, wax, and flowers; now appeared, followed by a long procession of priests and crucifixes. He descended into the font, repeated a great many prayers in Latin over the water, occasionally dipping his hand into it. Then a huge flaming wax taper, about six feet high, and of proportionate thickness, painted with images of the Virgin and Christ, which had previously been blessed, was set upright in the vase; more Latin prayers were mumbledone of the Jews was brought, the Bishop cut the sign of the cross in the hair, at the crown of his head, then, with a silver ladle, poured some of the water upon the parf, baptizing him in the usual forms, both the godfathers and he having ageed to all that was required of them. The second Jew was then brought, upon whom the same ceremonies were performed; this poor little fellow wore a wig, and, when the cold water was poured on his bare skull, he winced exceedingly, and made many wry faces. They were then conveyed to the altar of the neighbouring chapel, where they were confirmed, and repeated the creed. The Bishop then made the sign of the cross upon their foreheads, with holy oil, over which white fillets were immediately tied to secure it; he then pronounced a long exhortation, in the course of which he frightened them so that the little Jew with a wig began to cry most bitterly, and would not be comforted. This being over, the Jews were conducted, with great ceremony, from the Baptistery to the door of the church, where they stopped, and after some chaunting by the Bishop, they were allowed to pass the threshold; they were then seated within the very pale of the altar, in order that they might witness a succession of various ceremonies.-(Rome in the Nineteenth Century, vol. iii, p. 155.) At twelve o'clock on this day, the Resurrection is announced to the people by the ringing of the bells of more than three hundred churches at once; the firing of cannon from the castle of St. Angelo; the blowing of horns and trumpets, the clang of kettle-drums, and every species of tumult. During the days in which the bells are tied up (from Holy Thursday to Saturday at noon,) the hours on which they are usually rung for prayers, viz. six in the morning, three in the afternoon, and at sunset, are announced by a little wooden machine, called tric-trac, making a sound similar to its name, but very noisy, with which some of the inferior clergy run about the churches at the proper times. Though the resurrection takes place on Saturday at noon, the fast is not over till midnight, at which time most good Catholics cat gras,-that is an enormous supper of fish, flesh, and fowl. A total abstinence from food, during the two previous days, is still practised by many, but the feasting is now more universal than the fasting. The priests are very actively employed, at Easter, in run * Turks are preferred, when they are to be had, but they are very rare. Eighty Roman crowns each are paid to the Jews, and all debts due to their brethren are cancelled. ning in and out of every house, blessing it with holy water. Every Italian must at this time confess, and receive the communion. APRIL 7.-EASTER SUNDAY. On Easter Sunday, the grandest Catholic festival of the year, the church puts forth all her pomp and splendour, which are seen to the greatest advantage in the noble church of St. Peter's at Rome. The Pope assists at high mass, and there is a very grand procession, which, as it took place in the year 1818, is well described by the indefatigable author before quoted with approbation. The church,' says our observer, was lined with the Guarda Nobile, in their splendid uniforms of gold and scarlet and nodding plumes of white ostrich feathers, and the Swiss guards, with their polished cuirasses and steel helmets. The great centre aisle was kept clear by a double wall of armed men, for the grand procession, the approach of which, after much expectation, was proclaimed by the sound of a trumpet from the farther end of the church. A long band of priests advanced, loaded with still augmenting magnificence, as they ascended to the higher orders. Cloth of gold, and embroidery of gold and silver, and crimson velvet, and mantles of spotted ermine, and flowing trains, and attendant train-bearers, and mitres and erucifixes glittering with jewels, and priests and patriarchs, and bishops and cardinals, dazzled the astonished eye, and filled the whole length of St. Peter's. Lastly, came the Pope, in his crimson chair of state (sedia gestatoria,) borne on the shoulders of twenty Palfrenirie, arrayed in robes of white, and wearing the tiara, or triple crown of the conjoined Trinity, with a canopy of cloth of silver floating over his head; and preceded by two men, carrying enormous fans, composed of large plumes of ostrich feathers, mounted on long gilded wands. He stopped to pay his adorations to the miraculous Madonna in her chapel, about half way up; and this duty, which he never omits, being performed, he was slowly borne past the High Altar, liberally giving his benediction with the twirl of the three fingers as he passed. They then set him down on a magnificent stool, in front of the altar, on which he knelt, and his crown being taken off, and the Cardinals taking off their little red skull-caps, and all kneeling in a row, he was supposed to pray. Having remained a few minutes in this attitude, they took him to the chair prepared for him, on the right of the throne. There he read, or seemed to read, something out of a book, and then he was again taken to the altar, on which his tiara was placed; and, bare-headed, he repeated— or, as by courtesy, they call it, sang— a small part of the service, threw up clouds of incense, and was removed to the crimson-canopied throne; and high mass was celebrated by a cardinal and two bishops, at which he assisted. During the whole of the service, it was observed that the only part of the congregation who were in the least attentive, were the small body of English, whom curiosity, and perhaps a sense of decorum, rendered so. All the Italians seemed to consider it quite as much of a pageant as ourselves, but neither a new nor an interesting one; and they were walking about, and talking, and interchanging pinches of snuff with each other, exactly as if it had been a place of amusement,-till the tinkling of a little bell, which announced the elevation of the Host, changed the scene. Every knee was now bent to the earth, every voice was hushed; the reversed arms of the military rung with an instantaneous clang on the marble pavement, as they sank on the ground, and all was still as death. This did not last above two minutes. The Host was swallowed, and so began and ended the only thing that bore even the smallest outward aspect of religion. The military now poured out of St. Peter's, and formed an extensive ring before its spacious front, behind which the horse guards were drawn up, and an immense number of * Rome in the Nineteenth Century, vol. iii. p. 163. carriages, filled with splendidly dressed women, and thousands of people on foot, were assembled. But the multitude almost shrunk into insignificance in the vast area of the piazza; and neither piety nor curiosity had collected together sufficient numbers to fill it. The tops of the colonades all round were, however, thronged with spectators; and it was a curious sight to see such a mixture of all ranks and nations, from the coronetted heads of kings to the poor cripple who crawled along the pavement,-assembled to gether to await the blessing of an old man, their fellow mortal, now tottering on the brink of the grave. Not the least picturesque figures among the throng, were the Contadini, who, in every variety of curious costume, had flocked in from their distant mountain villages, to receive the blessing of the Holy Father, and whose bright and eager countenances, shaded by their long dark hair, were turned to the balcony where the Pope was to appear. At length the two white ostrich-feather fans, the forerunners of his approach, were seen; and he was borne forward en his throne, above the shoulders of the Cardinals and Bishops, who filled the balcony. After an audible prayer he arose, and, elevating his hands to heaven, invoked a solemn benediction upon the assembled multitude, and the people committed to his charge. Every head was uncovered; the soldiers, and many of the spectators, sunk on their knees on the pavement to receive the blessing. That blessing was given with impressive solemnity, but with little gesture or parade. Immediately the thundering of cannon from the castle St. Angelo, and the peal of bells from St. Peter's, proclaimed the joyful tidings to the skies. The Pope was borne out, and the people rose from their knees.' The Pope's benediction this day, the Italians say, extends all over the world, but on Thursday it only goes to the gates of Rome. On Thursday, too, previously to the benediction, one of the Cardinals curses all Jews, Turks, and heretics, by bell, book, and candle.' The little bell is rung, the curse is sung from the book, and the lighted taper thrown down among the people. The Pope's benediction immediately follows upon all true believers. 6 ON (English Magazines, December and January.) MILES COLVINE, THE CUMBERLAND MARINER. N the English side of the sea of Solway lies a long line of flat and unelevated coast, where the sea-fowl find refuge from the gun of the fowler, and which, save the headland and the deep sea, presents but one object of attraction, namely, the cottage of Miles Colvine, the Cumberland mariner. The owner of this rude dwelling, once a seaman, a soldier, a scholar, and a gentleman, was shipwrecked on the coast about thirty years ago, and was the only living soul that escaped from the fatal storm. The vessel was from a foreign land, and something mysterious always hung over her fate and the destiny of her crew. The conduct of Miles Colvine was less likely to remove than confirm suspicion. He heard all enquiries concerning the ship and the crew in perfect tranquillity and silence, and once only he deigned to answer, when a shepherd asked, "was it the blood of beasts I saw upon the deck?" "No, it was the blood of men." From this time forward, no farther intercourse was courted by the peasantry, and he was allowed to construct a small hut, fence it round with a wall of loose stone, and occupy it, without any molestation. He seemed anxious to shun all intercourse with human beings, and sought and found his subsistence in the sea; for it was the common remark of the Allan bay fishermen that no man dipped a hook, or wetted a net, between Skinverness and Saint Bees, with greater skill and success. In this solitude, exposed to every storm that swept the beach from sea or land, amid |