A stir and confusion at the entrance, a rolling of carriages, and the clash of muskets, as the soldiers presented arms, gave notice of the arrival of the nunzio; a moment more and the prelate entered, accompanied by four or five priests, two of whom were his own pri vate attendants and secretaries. Half way up the aisle, there was a crimson velvet prie Dieu; his attendants ran on before, and placed a crimson cushion on it,-here the nunzio stopped and prayed for a few minutes before the side altar, while the priests knelt behind him.

Then he resumed his progress to the altare maggiore, where he was led to a throne chair of crimson velvet, fringed with gold bullion; its high Gothic back, and massive arms, elaborately carved and moulded, and most richly gilt; and now the priests all gathered round him, and his toilet commenced. Never was there a more intricate affair

of state. No French petite maitresse, surrounded by her femmes de chambre, and dressing for a ball, ever gave them so much occupation. The priests gathered round him,-one untied the strings of his robe, a second pulled off the sleeves; two others, on each side, lifted it skilfully over his head, and a fifth ran down the steps and carried off the rejected vestment to the sagrestia. Again and again the same process was repeated. First the robe disappeared, of that rich Tyrian purple silk, which, like the scarlet silk of the cardinals, is unique for colour and texture, and is manufactured nowhere but in Rome, for the clergy; then a white sort of surplice, bordered with an antique guipure of the finest quality, a foot broad, which would have driven any of the fair amateurs of lace mad, and might literally have been said to be worth its weight in gold;-then another robe, then a sort of scarf, then some other portion of his dress, till I really began to fear that, like the chrysalis, his eminence would have nothing left.

"Misericordia! will they undress him altogether?" I exclaimed in dismay to the Duca di R- who had taken his seat beside us, as the fifth garment vanished into the sagrestia.

"Cospiti! non si spaventi cosi!" laughed the Duca. "They might go on for the next half hour without coming to the in extremis of his eminence's habiliments. But see, your fears are not likely to be realized, for the disrobing is already concluded."

In effect, there was a dead stop, the clerical dames d'atours stoud with folded arms, and his eminence sat in his great fauteuil, very much diminished in dignity and size, by being shorn of his glories of "purple and gold," though by no means uncomfortably diminished.

A moment more, and a train of priests issued from the sagrestia, each bearing some portion of the vestments which were to replace those of which the nunzio had been despoiled. First came the cope, then the amice, then the stole, all borne on a species of trays, and all of gold or silver tissue, stiff with the most massive gold embroidery; bu the last was the most resplendent of all. A fifth bore a sort of scar, I think it is called the scapulary; another followed with the magn cent silver gilt crozier, sparkling with precious stones, and so admirably and richly chiselled, that it looked as if it had but just emerged from the studio of Benvenuto Cellini. The mitre came last, set a over with gems, the rainbow-tinted rays of emeralds and diamonds, sapphire, ruby, and topaz, glittering in the sun-light-a perfect blaze The toilet was performed in the same manner as the disrobing: of the padri passed the first garment over his eminence's head, whic

twi

two more raised it up at the back, and a fifth drew it down in frontin the same manner, one after the other, the different vestments were put on the priests, turning and twisting them about-adjusting them round their patient's throat, or lifting up his arms, and slipping them through, just as if they had been dressing a mannequin; while the prelate, on his part, sat as immoveable as if he had been in reality made of wood instead of carne ed ossa. In another instant the embroidered scarf was hung round his neck, while two priests placed the mitre on his head. A fourth put the crozier into his hand, and another knelt on the steps, and taking off the nuncio's chausseure, replaced them by the white satin shoes, embroidered with rich Greek crosses in gold. The toilet was terminated at last.

It was the first time since his arrival from Paris, that Monsignor C― had made his appearance in public, and as a nunzio condescends to officiate only on state occasions, all were anxious to obtain a good view of the new dignitary; but till the dressing was completed, and the squadron of priests who stood round him thinned, it was impossible to catch more than a transitory glimpse. But now that their functions were terminated, one by one, they knelt before him, kissed his hand, and then retired; and his eminence sat on his throne,-a gorgeous mass of silver tissue, gold, and gems.

Nothing could be more unlike his predecessor-fat, rubicund, smiling, and good humoured, he was the very antipodes of Monsignor di Pietro, who, with his acutely marked features, his piercing black eyes and slender figure, sat a little distance, enacting the, to him, unusual part of a spectator, his departure for Lisbon having been delayed; a circumstance to which we owed the rare spectacle of two nuncios meeting in the same place.

There was a pause of inaction, and in a few minutes the muskets rang again upon the pavement,-the crowd at the lower end of the church pressed forward, and every one turned to look at the sposa who now entered, but of whom as yet we could only obtain a glimpse of floating white draperies and gold, preceded by a sort of sagrestano, with his high staff of office, who made way for her; and accompanied by only one lady, she too stopped before the prie Dieu at the side altar, and prayed for a few minutes, while her friend knelt beside her; in five minutes they rose, and passing close beside us, advanced to the foot of the altar, and seated themselves on two crimson velvet chairs placed for them within the enclosure.

The monaca was attired in a complete bridal dress. She wore a rich white satin, embroidered en tablier in gold, and circling all round en guirlande a blonde guimpe mounted up to her throat-it not being considered correct for a nun to show anything but her face-a sparkling diamond necklace, with a superb sevigné attached to it. A band of brilliants of the purest water glittered on the forehead; a white blonde mantle floated round her, fastened on her hair by a bouquet of diamond épis on one side, and a magnificent aigrette on the other.

Nothing could be more brilliant than the dress and the diamonds; yet I was disappointed; the Duca had told me her story-one of those drames d'interieur peculiar to Italy-uneventful and short, yet passionate, visionary, and devoted,-and I had expected to see a heroine, but nothing could be less like a vision of romance than the little, fat, good-humoured looking rosy brunette who sat before me, bowed

down by the ponderous weight of diamonds she was condemned to bear for once.

Donna Maria Berlinghieri was the daughter of a noble house,-a rich heiress, an only child, with a large dower. Her parents had done all that they could to prevent her entering the convent, and a reluctant consent had been wrung from them at last, only by her irrevocable resolution to take the veil, and the impossibility of preventing it.

There are three primary causes in Italy, to one or other of which, at most, all the religious vocations may be traced. The liking of habit,—general amidst dull and timid minds, for the monotonous but tranquil seclusion; the unchanging and uneventful routine of conventual life; which, whether an Italian girl has been educated in a convent or at home, is the existence she has been used to, from her infancy. Secondly, a passion malheureuse—or last, not least, misfortune, and its followers, disgust and misanthropy. The vocation of the first class may pursue the even tenor of its way to the end of the chapter, rejoicing in the pleasures of illuminating missals, decking out altars, or embroidering silks; but the two latter either plunge into fanaticism and bigotry, or rise into a frantic enthusiasm, with its accompanying trances, exstases, &c. For the heart that has loved well once, will love again, especially in Italy; and when the earthly idol has crumbled into dust, the heavenly idol fills its shrine.

Speculating on these thoughts, I had pictured to myself, if not a beauty, at least a pale, interesting looking girl, such as I had sometimes seen on similar occasions; or, perhaps, one of those dark Junolike Roman women, with the Greek profile and the Sybilline eyes, her whole countenance stamped with solemn indifference or disdain for that world which she was going to renounce for ever. But nothing could be more unlike the picture than the reality. A single glance at the monaca dispelled my dream at once. There was no soul, no fire, in those dull dark eyes-no intellect in the low brow-no grace, no poetry, in the thick lips, the little round face, and the still rounder figure. She was just the sort of being who, in England, would have been nursing children, mending stockings, and scolding servants,-in Germany knitting, or making puddings, and in Italy was destined to dress wax dolls-go to matins and complines, and seccare her confessor.

One felt no pity for her fate. Nature had evidently not intended her for anything better. How different from the pretty, brilliant Contessina Bolognetti, or the more nobly beautiful Mademoiselle della Porta, only a few years ago the two most admired belles of Rome,both of them daughters of patrician houses, whose names rank amidst the most ancient of the "libro d'oro,"both young-both beautiful; and now both nuns in the noble convent of the Tor da' Specchi. The first, in consequence of an unhappy home and a dégout au monde: the second, from some mysterious motive, which none have ever been able to fathom, and which of course, in default of evidence, has been attributed to a "passione infelice" for some unknown vagheggino, who has had the art to preserve his name unknown, even after the whole Roman world, cardinals and monsignori included, had puzzled themselves for three months in vain to discover what unimaginable person or cause could have induced a beauty and an heiress, after having, on dit, refused Prince Massino, whom her sister, Donna Giacinta della Porta, has since married,-to prefer the seclusion of a convent

to the homage of all the handsomest cavalieri of Rome, and to all the pleasures of living in the world.

But comparisons are odious; as my thoughts reverted to them, it was melancholy to reflect that beings so formed to embellish and grace life should bury themselves alive, when there are such millions, who, like the uninteresting girl that I gazed upon, seem fit for nothing else. The lady who accompanied the monaca wore a lilac brochée silk, covered with blonde-decolletée-short sleeves, and loaded with diamonds, for it is the pride on these occasions to make a grand display of jewels. All the family diamonds are heaped on the postulant, and in Italy there is a greater profusion of them than in any other part of the world; for in all the great families the diamonds are heir-looms, that cannot be disposed of under any circumstances,-thus there is scarcely an ancient noble family in Italy, be they ever so ruined, that does not possess the superb diamonds that have been handed down to them from father to son ever since the palmy days of Italian splendour; and on grand occasions, such as the reception of a cardinal, for instance, when it is customary to show them all, the spectacle is beyond measure dazzling and magnificent.

In the present instance the young novice was actually drooping beneath the pile of diamonds which was heaped upon her. In general, all the relations and friends of the nun surround her, and seats are placed for them within the balustrade that encloses the altar; but on this occasion, as it was against their consent, none of them were present.

In a few minutes, a seat was placed for the nunzio, in front of the altar, the sposa was led up,-prayed a moment at a prie Dieu, and then ascending the steps, kissed the nuncio's hand, and knelt before him. He spoke to her in a low voice, asked her questions, which she answered in the same tone; and which we understood to be, respecting the sincerity of her vocation-its voluntariness-her knowledge of the solemn engagements she was about to take; in short, all the usual catechism in such cases.

During this time her friend stood a few paces away from her, in the background. This over, the postulant knelt again before the prie Dieu, and then both seated themselves opposite to the altar. After the other short ceremonies usual, a monk issued from the sagrestia, and taking his seat at the top of the steps, began the predica.

I was disappointed at first, for I had expected the nunzio to have preached, as I had seen the cardinal who officiated at the vestizione of Mademoiselle Bolognetti; but we had no loss,-meno l'onore,-for the monk was one of the most eloquent and celebrated predicatori of Naples, and on this occasion he did not fall short of his fame.

The subject was one well calculated for the display of his flowery and impassioned style, and he made the most of it. Nothing could be more singular than the predica,—or rather it was not a predica, but the most glowing of epithalamiums. He described the bliss which awaited la sposa beata, the supreme happiness of the divine communion, with all the brilliant luxuriance of oriental metaphor. His language, too, was of the elevated tone and style of the poets, as is always the case in prediche addressed to the higher orders in Italy. His poetic diction increased the illusion, and as he spoke of the midnight visits of the divine spouse, dwelt on the ineffable delights of his bacio d'amore and the Talamo infiorato, and, as if carried away by the

irresistible impulse of his feelings, rushed on in a strain of fiery colouring, all poetry and passion, but much better adapted to Italian than English. I thought of Torquato reciting to the beautiful Eleonora d'Este that exquisite canto of the "Gerusalemme:❞—

"Tondo è il ricco edificio, e nel più chiuso
Grembo di lui ch'è quasi centro al giro,
Un giardin v'ha, ch'adorno è sovra l'uso
Di quanti più famosi unqua fioriro,”—

and all that follows. Tasso's descriptions of the enchanted garden, the Naiads and their sports, and last, not least, the scenes between Rinaldo and Armida, were scarcely more exaltées.

"Cogliam d'amor la rosa, amiamo or quando
Esser si puote, riamato amando,”-

should have been the text. Yet, unsuitable as it seemed to the place and the occasion, as a specimen of eloquence, the predica was unri valled,-poetic, brilliant, elegant in language, and fertile in imagery. It was well worth coming to hear, even had there been no other inducement. It lasted half an hour, during which the sposa, to whom it was all addressed, kept her head bent down, and never raised her eyes.

At the conclusion she was again led up to the altar, where she knelt on the steps at the nuncio's feet. Two or three priests drew round, one carried a small silver salver, on which lay scissors with which the nunzio took and cut off the first lock of hair, another presented the crown, all glittering with tinsel and little coarse artificial flowers. Monsignor C- placed it on her head, and then both rose and descended the steps, the monaca holding the end of her scapulary, evidently trying with difficulty to keep her crown on her head, while she walked with her eyes cast down, and the whole train preceded by the officer with the staff, accompanied by the priests, traversed the aisle, and went out of the grand portal.

The entire of that part of the ceremony which takes place in the church was terminated, and all the rest was to be within the precincts of the convent. Numbers of the inexperienced followed the proces sion, to see the nun received at the convent gate by the whole sisterhood, but we, with all the cognoscenti, remained, in order to secure a good place at the grating. We were spared, however, the unpleasantness of the general rush, for Signor D--, of the nunziato, had given us in especial charge to one of the friars, who unlocked the door, and passed us in before any one else was allowed to enter.

The inferrata was situated immediately behind the grand altar. It was of an unusual size, much larger and loftier than an ordinary window, and the bars were very wide apart. On each side were two projecting buttresses of marble, which served us for seats. Thanks to this we could see the interior of the convent as well as if we had been inside; a rare piece of good fortune, for in general the inferrate are so small, the bars so close, and the crowd so great, that it is scarcely possible to distinguish more than the shadow of a passing veil, or the flame of a taper.

The hall into which we gazed, for it was too grandiose to be called a room, looked very like the Sala Regia of the Vatican. After such a comparison it is almost unnecessary to add that it was very magnificent. Frescoed from floor to roof, the ceiling was one mass of superb paintings, which were brightly visible by the light of several very