Except upon these occasions, the churches are not very fully attended, the bulk of the congregations being usually composed of women, and persons of the lower class.

The attempts on the part of the Catholic priesthood to make converts to Catholicism, are said to have been very successful, both on the continent and in this country, especially among the more impressible sex. A principal cause of this success is, doubtless, in many instances, not so much from a conviction of the superiority of the Catholic form of worship, as from the circumstance that their clergy mix more with the people, and are, at all times, accessible to persons who require that relief of spiritual consolation, under the various trying circumstances of life, which members of the ecclesiastical profession are best calculated to impart. This is, doubtless, likewise a reason of the success of Dissenters in England.

Few pageants exceed in magnificence that of the Pope's being carried in state into St. Peter's on the occasions when he performs high mass, preceded by a long double file of cardinals and prelates, attended by the noble guards, and by the Swiss in their picturesque costume, with the people kneeling to receive his blessing as he passes. The benediction, from the balcony of the façade, of the people on Christmas and Easter days, has also a particularly fine effect, the number of persons assembled and kneeling in the spacious Place often amounting to upwards of 100,000.

Of the other sights at Easter, those best worth attending are, the illumination of the façade and dome of the church, which is unique in its way, the whole being

lighted up in a few seconds; and the Girandola, or display of fire-works from the Castle of St. Angelo. The rest are scarcely worth the trouble and crushing which must be undergone.

The carnival, which till lately was better kept up here than elsewhere, has, since the recent political events, been shorn of its spirit, masking being prohibited in the streets; its revival, as in former days, is hardly to be expected in future.

CHAPTER IX.

ROME-MEDICINE-MALARIA-LIVING, &c.-CLIMATE.

LITERATURE and science are at a low ebb in the Roman states, being but little encouraged. Comparatively few books are published, as there is no security of copyright in Italy, and a valuable work might be printed in any of the other states, and sold at a low price, without the author's being able to obtain any compensation. As Rome has little commerce and no manufactures, except those of mosaics, cameos, and other objects of taste, a great portion of the inhabitants mainly depend upon the influx of strangers for the season, which is as universally calculated upon as at a watering-place. Without its climate, antiquities, and works of art, which are the chief inducements for strangers to select it as a temporary residence, Rome would soon lose a large portion of its population, as house-rent and taxes are high compared with other parts of Italy, and the summer is unhealthy from the prevalence of malaria.

Medicine and surgery are likewise in a very backward condition in Rome, as compared with most parts of Europe. The hospitals are richly endowed, but though somewhat improved of late, are still in a state of great neglect; the largest of them, St. Spirito, for

the reception of patients of the male sex, contains about 1,400 beds. The number occupied varies greatly, according to the season, being much smaller in winter and spring than in summer and autumn, when the intermittent and malaria fevers are prevalent. The hospital St. Giacomo, on the Corso, is appropriated to surgical diseases and operations, the mortality after which is great.

Inflammation of the lungs is prevalent in winter and spring, though less so than at Florence and Naples. Bronchial affections, rheumatism, and diseases of the eyes, are also less common. Gastric irritation and visceral engorgement are of frequent occurrence, especially in the warm months. Consumption is not frequent, unless when it ensues upon neglected inflammation. Sudden death, called by the Italians accidente, frequently occurs, to which the stillness of the air, the indolent mode of life, and the habit of eating suppers on returning from the theatre or from soirées, no doubt predispose. Nervous affections are also very general, especially the morbid sensibility of the olfactory nerves, with respect to flowers and perfumes, which sometimes exists in such a high degree as to occasion convulsive attacks. This peculiar antipathy to perfumes is likewise met with in some other Italian cities, and English residents, who have become acclimated, are also liable to be affected in a similar manner. Intermittent and other fevers are endemic in the summer and autumn, at which periods the hospitals are crowded with patients from the country, and, as bark is the principal remedy employed to combat the disease, the consumption of this medicine is The insalubrity of the seasons is in a direct

enormous.

ratio to the heat and to the quantity of rain that has fallen; but, since the improved drainage of the Pontine marshes, these fevers have diminished in frequency and severity. One of the most common exciting causes is exposure to currents ofcold air, or chills in damp places, after the body has been heated by exercise; irregularity of diet, poorness of living, or, in fact, any circumstances which tend to depress the powers of the system, may act as predisposing causes. Thus, strangers resorting to Rome are much less liable to be affected the first year of their residence than in the subsequent years, when the body has become relaxed and enervated by the influence of the climate. The wearing of flannel is a good precautionary measure. There is no doubt that malaria frequently remains for some time latent in the constitution, giving rise, at a future period, to various diseases, which are seldom attributed to it. Neuralgic complaints may often be traced to this cause, as may likewise some paralytic and other affections, as well as intermittent fevers, which frequently do not appear while persons are under the excitement of travelling, but subsequently, perhaps after the interval of several months from the time that the person was exposed to the influence of this poisonous agent.

Dr. J. Johnson, who, from his long residence in India, is one of the persons best calculated to give an opinion on this subject, agrees with others who have investigated the nature of this noxious agent, when he says, "It rises from the soil with the watery exhalations of the day, and falls with the dews of night. It appears to be in mechanical mixture with the air, not in chemical solution. Being heavier than the atmosphere, it gravi