regeneration in Christ to those who are united to Him by Faith.

21. On the necessity of good works.

22. On the eternal reward promised to good works.

23. Against invocation of Saints, who are to be imitated, but not worshipped.

24. On Christ the Only Head of the One Church which God has instituted in the world for the salvation of men.

25, 26, 27. On the holiness, unity, and indefectibility of the Church.

28. On the necessity of the means of grace, which are the Word of God, and the two Sacraments, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, which God has instituted as means whereby we are united to Christ, and partake of His benefits.

29. On the Sacrament of Baptism, which was instituted for a witness of our adoption; and wherein we are washed from our sins in the blood of Christ, and are renewed in holiness of life.

30. On the Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, which Christ has instituted to be the food of our souls, in order that, by a true living faith,

and by the incomprehensible virtue of the Holy Ghost, we eating effectually His flesh, and drinking His blood, and being joined most nearly and inseparably to Christ, may have eternal life in and through Him.

31. On the necessity of the Christian Ministry for the preaching of the Word, and Administration of the Sacraments: which Ministry consists of Pastors, joined with Elders and Deacons.

32. On the Civil Magistracy, instituted by God.

33. On the duty of receiving the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and Lord's Prayer, as fundamental documents of faith and worship.

The Waldenses, or Vaudois, observe also certain Holydays of the Church, Christmas Day, Ascension Day, and Good Friday.

A zealous member of the Scotch Free Church said to me, that he and his brethren could do nothing with the "Plymouthists;" and that no permanent effect could be produced on the Italian mind by their irregular efforts, but that more might be hoped, he thought, from the Waldenses, who were pious, prudent, and

earnest men, and who did not send forth their ministers till they had gone through a long course of study, and had passed the test of a searching examination. Is not this a testimony on the part of the Free Church of Scotland to the necessity of Church-organization? And ought not that organization to be preferred which has the stamp of Antiquity and Catholicity?

The Free Church is active at Florence; the Vaudois also, who are now entering on a new career in this spacious theological Seminary, and the Plymouthists, are not idle. These religious Societies are the representatives of the Reformation; and they have rather an aggressive character. But scarcely any thing is done here by the Churches of England, Ireland, Scotland, and America for the purpose of opening out friendly intercourse with the Roman Catholic Clergy, and of conciliating their affections and confidence, and of leading them on to Reformation by an appeal to the principles of primitive Christianity.

CHAPTER XVI.

FLORENCE (continued).

WENT to S. Onofrio to see Raffaelle's fresco in the Cenacolo, now secularized: the colours are fresh and clear. Two of his sketches for it are preserved in the apartment; the lower limbs were carefully delineated before they were draped; an evidence of the science which underlies the surface of this great Master's pictures, and which is the cause of the beauty of the forms which it underlies. This fresco is well known to the world from its excellent photograph.

Went in the afternoon to the Convent of S. Mark: beautiful frescos of Fra Angelico in the Cloisters and Chapter-house, and cells of the monks. Some of the figures in these frescos are exquisite specimens of artistic

delicacy and purity in conception and execution.

Visited the cell of Savonarola, described as "Apostolicus" in the inscription there; but my companion, who belonged to the Monastery, said that the great Florentine preacher was "fanatico per la libertà." These are melancholy days for all who have any connexion with Monasteries; and the memory of all Reformers, even of those who proceeded from their own body, seems to be ungrateful to them. The Italian Legislature has recently passed a Law' which prohibits the Monastic Orders from incorporating any new members, and transfers the property of these religious houses to the Crown, for Civil and Military purposes, under certain conditions, viz. that public worship should still be maintained, and "works of art" should be preserved.

The Convents and Monasteries of Italy are now dying slowly of atrophy and inanition. Many of the cells of this noble Monastery are untenanted. The monks, who still linger on in this once celebrated Monastery, seem to be

'December 22, 1861.