"The stone on which stood the Angel, when he announced the great mystery of the incarnation, to the most blessed Virgin. "A little piece of the stone where Christ was born. "A little piece of the stone, where sat our Lord Jesus, when he pardoned the sins of the Magdalen. "The stone where the Lord wrote the law, given to Moses on Mount Sinai. 666 Of the stone where reposed St. Peter and St. Paul. "Of the cotton with which was collected the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Of the manna, with which God fed the Hebrew people in the desert. "A portion of the rod of Aaron, which flourished in the desert. "Of the relics of the eleven Prophets.'"-(pp. 74-76.) "XXXIII.-On a tablet on the right-hand side of the right aisle of St. Cecilia in Trastavere, among others. (Parchment.) "The great toe of the foot of St. Mary Magdalen. "Of the milk of the blessed Virgin Mary. "Of the thorns and sponge.' "XXXIV. In the list on the left-hand side of the vestibule of St. Cosmo and Damian. (Parchment.) "One bottle of the milk of the blessed Virgin Mary. "Of the house of St. Mary Magdalene. "Of the house of St. Zachary, Prophet.'" "XXXV.-In St. Prassede on either side of the railing of the high altar, are inscribed, among others, the following relics, on marble slabs. "Of the Camisia of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Of the rod of Moses. "Of the ground upon which our Saviour prayed before his passion. "Of the reed and sponge with which they gave to drink our Lord Jesus Christ. "Of the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul. "The image of the Saviour which St. Peter the apostle gave to Prudentius, Father of St. Praxede. "Of the relics of St. John the Baptist. "Of the napkin with which our Lord wiped the feet of his disciples. "Of the clothes in which the Lord Jesus was wrapped at the nativity. "Of the garment without a seam of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Three thorns of the crown of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Of the stone with which St. Stephen, proto-martyr was stoned. “‘Of the reed in which was placed the sponge full of vinegar and gall, with which they gave to drink to our Lord Jesus Christ.' "On the left of the chapel of the holy column in this church, is the following monumental inscription: "John Cardinal Colonna, Titular of St. Praxede, because as apostolic legate, in the East, in the year of salvation 1223, he had brought to Rome from Jerusalem, the column consecrated by the blood and tortures of our Lord Christ, and had enriched his country, noble with the spoils of the East, with the trophy of the patience of Christ;-Francis Colonna, Prince of Carboniano and Rubiano, placed this monument for posterity, in the year of our Lord 1635, lest the memory of his ancestor, who deserved much of the Christian republic, and the family of Colonna, whose ancient surname he made more holy, should be obliterated.' "The column is in the adjoining chapel.”—(pp. 76—79.) "XXXIX. On the left of the entrance in the church of St. James ScossaCavallo is the following inscription, on a square block of stone. "Upon this stone, according to the ancient traditions of historians, brought hither by Helen the Empress, Abraham placed his only son Isaac, to be sacrificed according to Divine command.'"-(p. 82.) "XLII.-In St. Peter's in the chapel of the Pietà, in a receptacle on the right-hand side, is a spiral column, from which those of the Baldacchino, over the high altar, are copied upon the pedestal is seen the following inscription : : "This is that column against which our Lord Jesus Christ leant while he preached to the people, and poured forth prayers to God in the temple, and stood leaning against it, with others standing round. From the temple of Solomon, to the triumph of this Basilica, here it was placed. It expels demons and liberates those vexed by unclean spirits, and performs many miracles daily. By the very reverend prince and lord, the Lord Cardinal Orsini, A.D. 1438.'"'-(p. 88.) Lastly, on that test of fidelity or infidelity to our Lord,—by the application of which, we rejoice to believe, a brother perverted to Rome a few years since, has been since forced to leave that antichristian church-the worship of Mary, we have the following facts:-- "LIII. The image of the Blessed Virgin, is certainly the most venerated at Rome, of which she is protectress. "Lady, save thy people. "Salvum fac populum tuum Domina,' is to be seen written under her image at the corner of the convent of St. Sylvestro in Capite in the Via della Mercede." (p. 112.) "LIV. The following prayer hangs to the rails of the chapel of St. Maria consolatrix afflictorum. "Prayer to the most Holy Mary, Consoler of the afflicted. "I salute you, O most holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven, gate of paradise, mistress of the world. You are a most pure Virgin in a singular manner. You were conceived without original sin, and on that account most immaculate. You, without spot conceived Jesus, our Saviour. You were verily inviolate, and pure before the birth, in the birth, and after the birth; cause, that I by your holy prayers may live a pure, pious, and holy life: pray for me to Jesus your most beloved Son. Deliver me from all evils and afflictions of the soul and body. Make me to acquire the merits of the works of mercy. Receive me after my death, into heaven, and make me to enjoy, with you, for ever, the glory of paradise. So be it. "Venerated at Rome, in the church of St. Maria Sopra Minerva, and is dispensed gratis by the Sacristan of the same. One Ave Maria for the benefactor who causes its dispensing.' ”—(pp. 113, 114.) "LVII. The following is curious, in reference to the worship of the Virgin, and is an additional proof of the extreme addiction of the Church of Rome, to incorporate its devotion with images and relics. "Within a drawing or tracing, representing the sole of the shoe of the Virgin Mary, and edged at the margin with a glory, and with a star at the upper end, the following notice of an indulgence is printed. 66 6 Hail Mary, "The true measure of the foot of the Most Blessed Mother of God, taken from her real shoe, which, with the highest devotion, is preserved in a monastery of Spain. The Pontiff John XXII. conceded 300 years of indulgence, to whomsoever shall three times kiss this measure, and at the same time recite three Ave Marias; the which also was confirmed by Pope Clement VIII. the year of our Redemption, 1603. "This indulgence not being limited in respect to number, may be acquired as many times as shall be desired, by the devotees of the Most Holy Mary Virgin. It may be applied to the souls in purgatory. And it is permitted, to the greater glory of the Queen of Heaven, to take from this measure other similar measures, the which shall have the same indulgence. "Mary Mother of Grace, Pray for us. -(pp. 127, 128.) Such, then, is "Romanism as it exists at Rome." Said we not truly, that Mr. Percy has done good service, in giving us, under the sanction of an unimpeachable name, such a record of facts, denial of which will now be no longer practicable. To all who are, or may be, in circumstances requiring the ready production of such proofs; that is, to all who are likely to come in contact, either with Romanists, or with Romanizers, this little volume will prove an almost invaluable assistant; and as such we cordially recommend it. The circumstances of the day in which we live, seem to portend the approach of times, in which proofs and facts of this kind will become more and more needful. A conference of three hours, between the Prime Minister and Dr. Wiseman,-the expected elevation of this Romish priest to the rank of Archbishop of Westminster, -and the visit of Lord Minto to Rome, for the generally-understood purpose of opening diplomatic relations with the Pope, all tend to show, that Popery is rapidly rising into favour and esteem, at least, in the highest quarters. DAS CHRISTENTHUM IM GEISTE DES NEUNZEHNTEN JAHRHUNDERTS. Von Dr. J. D. C. BRUGGER, Pfarrer der deutsch-catholischen Gemeinde zu Heidelburg. 1847. CHRISTIANITY, IN THE SPIRIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. By Dr. J. D. C. BRUGGER, Minister of the German Catholic Congregation at Heidelburg. 1847. THERE are perhaps few cities in Germany in which there is more to excite the imagination than the little town of Heidelburg. It nestles among the vineyards that everywhere cover the hills that bound the valley of the Neckar. Its noble old castle, the faithful register of the mode of life, of the wars, and of the desolations of fourteen hundred years; its architecture of every period, from the round towers of the Romans in the first century, down to the humble imitations of the tasteless extravagances of the era of Louis XV. in the middle of the eighteenth, but now itself a ruin in every part, and by far the most interesting one in Germany, or in Europe, towers high above the little town, perched upon a precipice, and behind it rise steep hills crowned with majestic woods. On one of the terraces of this castle we stood, tracing the windings of the majestic Rhine, whose waters glistened in the morning sun, when our attention was drawn by a native of the town, back to the little city which lay beneath our feet. "In that little church," said he," Luther preached. There also is the church of the Protestants, and there, further up the valley, is the church of the Catholics; there, immediately before us, stands the cathedral, with a partition in the middle of it,-one-half of the building belongs to the Catholics, and the other half to the Protestants; they agree perfectly-there is no danger of their disagreeing; they are both dead, and it is merely burying them in the same tomb. We have many congregations and many preachers here, Catholic, GermanCatholic, and Protestant, but there is not one heart among them." We had had Brugger's book by us for some days; we had thrown it aside, as the production of a weak misguided person, more likely to arouse the indignation of his readers by the ridiculous affectation of his style, and the stupid dulness of his blasphemies, than to exercise any other influence upon them; but a short sojourn in Heidelburg itself, materially altered our opinion as to its importance. Dr. Brugger is a well-known member of the German-Catholic church, and took a prominent part in its secession three years ago. The Doctor is no Luther; but we hasten to express our conviction that, in the present state of society in Germany, it is next to im possible that any such Reformation as Luther's should take place, or that any such man as Luther should arise. The times of Luther were pre-eminently religious times. The princes and the peasants of the country, the burghers and the mechanics in the cities, the priests, regular and secular, from the abbot and the bishop down to the novice and the sacristan, were all in a certain measure, under a sense of religion; for in every class of society devout persons were to be found; and even amongst the worst and most abandoned, anything approaching to open infidelity seems to have been unknown. It was by the necessities of such a generation that the mind and character of Luther were moulded. He arose merely to give utterance to the indignation that convulsed the heart of Germany, at the discovery that Rome and her church were an imposture. It is a perilous descent from the sixteenth century, in Germany, down to the nineteenth, and from Dr. Luther down to Dr. Brugger; it is something like a leap down the precipice, over which hangs the terrace of the Altes Schloss, on which we are writing. The Germans of the old times had one noble and strong bond of union, and that bond was belief in Christianity. It was this which gave its weight and import to the movement which Luther began, and which shook Christendom to its centre. The Germans of the nineteenth century have certainly not that bond of union, nor any other which could make their country the centre of an European movement. Their Protestant churches present the shameful spectacle of men ordained to preach Christianity, and receiving the emoluments set apart for Christian ministers, yet in many instances openly avowing their conviction that Christianity is an imposture; in others, giving the entire of the gospel history an allegorical interpretation; in others again, not blushing to teach the monstrous doctrine, that truth is variable, and that that which was true and fact eighteen hundred years ago may become falsehood and fiction now. In scarcely any case preaching doctrines in accordance with the New Testament, and with the Articles and Confessions which they have signed. In the Roman Catholic Church in Germany all that could possibly exercise any influence upon the destinies of mankind, has, in like manner, departed. The high, though mistaken principle, the full conviction of the truth of their error, which compel us to respect some of the opponents of Luther, are gone for ever. The religion of the German Papist is mere sentiment. It evaporates in subscriptions to the Cathedral of Cologne, in admiration of fine paintings, in sickly devotions paid to pretty Virgin Maries, and handsome saints, and attuned to Haydn's Masses! Vast numbers of the Roman Catholics, both clergy and laity, are as much infidels as the Protestants, and merely cultivate religion as a source of pleasurable |