ceiving each of them, thereby to testify his veneration of the cross; the deacons and assistants' likewise kiss these sacred vestments. As soon as the bishop is seated, they put his mitre on, and a priest presents him with the pastoral ring. The deacon gives him his right glove, and the subdeacon his left, which each of them kiss, as also the hand they have the honour to serve in all these circumstances. There are some cerémonies to be observed, which those who are fond of mysteries may endeavour to account for, but should not ridicule. It is more material to acquaint the reader, that ejaculatory prayers have been adapted to each individual piece of the. episcopal robes, and that the devotion of this ceremony is supported and confirmed by the singing the office of tierce.* The bishop being thus drest in all his habiliments,† his clergy range themselves round about Prayers intended to return God thanks for the sanctification of his church by the Holy Ghost. + Each of these have a mysterious significance; the stole represents the yoke of the gospel; the shoes being taken off, alludes to Moses putting off his shoes; the Dalmatica is to represent to the deacon that he must be crucified to the world: the alb denotes the purity of the priest's soul; the pastoral ring implies the priest's spiritual marriage with the church; his gloves are to denote that he is insensible of his good works; the girdle, that he will be girded with justice and virtue; the sandals, that he is to walk in the paths of the Lord; the horns of the mitre, the Old and New Testament; the him. Two deacons, who are canons, place themselves on each side of him, both in their dalmaticas; and after them, a deacon and subdeacon. Then the incense-bearer, with the censer, and a priest, with the navet, out of which the shepherd's crook, his correction and paternal authority; the pluvial, which was formerly used by travellers, to represent the miseries of this life, and thus the bishop is to become a living image of the true Christian. This account is given by Casalius; but to shew us the propriety and reality of these characters, requires some farther explanation and proof. Picart's Ceremonies, vol. i. p. 335. The Rev. Peter Gaudolphy, in the preface to his edition of the Liturgy, has explained the use and signification of most of the vestments worn by the Catholic clergy, which appear so uncouth and strange to Protestants of the present day. "It is the duty," says he, "of every one to seek and learn the signification of the ceremonies of religion, although it must be admitted that it is often difficult to discover it, obscured as they are in the mist of antiquity.-Composed for the edification of the faithful, they were mostly intended to bear a mystical signification, though convenience and propriety also, often dictated the adoption of some. Thus the praying with uplifted hands, in imitation of Moses, mystically expresses the elevation of our thoughts to God. St. Paul also gives a mystical reason for the custom of men praying uncovered in churches-and even to many of those ceremonies which propriety introduced, the Church has added a spiritual sense. Thus the altars in our churches, are always raised above the level of the pavement, that the people may more easily observe the mysteries, as they are celebrated; yet in this the Church proposes to herself a meaning of the mystical kind; which is, that they are the altars of mediation between heaven and earth "In the same manner the sacred vestments, such as the Chasuble the bishop takes incense, puts it into the censer, and gives it his benediction. After this he kisses the cross, which is upon the vestry altar, and Chasuble-Dalmatic,* the Cope,t the Stole, Manuple,§ Amice, Alb, Girdle,** &c. originally common garments, were in universal use when first introduced into the offices of the Christian religion. But abandoned by fashion, the Church soon affixed to them a mystical signification, and piously assimilated them to the virtues in which the Christian soul is ever supposed to be arrayed. The Amice or Headcloth, for instance, was compared to the protecting helmet of spiritual grace and salvation (Ephes. vi. 17.) ;—the long Alb, or white linen garment, of future glory and immortality (Apoc. vii. 9.);-The Manuple to be an emblem of persecutions and sufferings for Christ (Matt. xvi. 24.);—and the Chasuble, Dalmatic, &c. to express the yoke and burthen of the gospel." This dangerous system, of spiritualizing the most common subjects The Chasuble and Dalmatic were coloured dresses, corresponding in shape to the Frock worn by our labouring peasants: convenience has taught us to leave the seams unsewed at the sides. + The Cope is an exact pattern of our modern trooper's cloak. The Stole was a smaller cloak, more resembling a tippet or Spanish mantle, which the scissars have gradually narrowed to its present shape. The Manuple was originally a cloth hanging from the left arm, to wipe the face. The Amice was a cloth tied over the head; used, perhaps, for warmth, and so placed that it might be drawn back upon the neck and shoulders at pleasure. ¶The Alb was the universal under-garment of all ranks, full, and reaching down to the heels; and is still the common dress of the Asiatics. ** The Girdle was a cord necessary to confine it close to the body.The Surplice, in Latin Superpelliceum, was a short loose white dress, and so called because occasionally worn over a dress made of the fur and hair of animals. then goes in procession to the other altar, where he is to celebrate the mass. The incense-bearer walks at the head of the procession; two waxcandle bearers, with lighted tapers in their hands, march next on each side of him who bears the cross; all the clergy follow them; the subdeacon who is to sing the epistle, carries before his breast the New Testament, shut, with the bishop's manuple in it; a deacon and priest march just before the bishop; the bishop carrying his shepherd's crook in his left hand, to dispense his blessings to those good Christians he passes in the way. The bishop being advanced to the altar, bows himself once to the clergy, and when he enters on the first step of the altar, delivers his crook to the subdeacon, and the deacon takes off the mitre; then the prelate and clergy bow to the altar, or rather to the cross on the altar; after which the clergy withdraw, except two priests' assistants, one on his right, and the other on his left hand, with the incensebearer, the subdeacon, and two deacons assistants, and then the ceremony of the mass service begins with the Confiteor,* &c., and the choir sings the introite.† subjects and things, was formerly carried to an enormous extent; and, finally, begat, in the minds of the vulgar, those su perstitious notions concerning the sanctity of "holy things" for which the Catholics have been so long distinguished. * See Picart's Religious Cer. vol. i. p. 336. + Offices, Vestments, and other Distinctions, see the Dict. The solemn Mass, celebrated by the Pope, has much of magnificence and ceremony: I will describe a simple part.* A pontifical solemn mass principally differs in two respects, always. observed when his holiness himself officiates. The first is this, the two gospels are sung, one in Greek, and the other in Latin; the second, that the communion is different in the papal mass, and performed after the following manner: after the Agnus Dei is sung, his holiness goes to his throne; the cardinal deacon of the gospel stands in such a manner on the epistle side, with his hands closed together, that he cannot only see the sacrament on the altar, but the Pope likewise going to his throne. When his holiness. is seated, the deacon goes and takes the consecrated host upon the paten, covered with a veil, and, turning to the people, elevates it three times successively, that is to say, in the middle and at each end of the altar. After that, he gives it to the subdeacon, who carries it to his holiness; in the mean time, the same deacon takes the chalice, in which is the consecrated wine, and having elevated it three times as he did the water before, carries it to the Pope, who adore Jesus Christ under both kinds, as soon as they are brought to him, which he performs with a moderately low bow of half his body, in a standing * Apion's Account, in his Tableau de la Cour de Rome, and Picart's Cer. vol. i. p. 339. |