he had formerly been wounded. After this work had been performed, the body was clothed in the Franciscan habit; and in the afternoon the fune ral rites were performed with all the pomp that had before been resolved on. M. I have never heard of more pains taken with a dying man, nor of a more pompous funeral. But I sup→ to be published to the world? Ph. Why not? M. You would be sure to get the hornets about your ears. Ph. I am not afraid. If these things have the nature of piety, it is for their interest that the people should know it; and if not, those who are good among them will thank me for pub lishing them, for they may thereby be shamed out of them; at least, simple people will be guarded against being deceived. There are many wise and truly pious men in these communities, who have often lamented to me that the superstition or wickedness of a few should have led good men to condemn the whole fraternity. this way. M. But their lives may have been equally holy with their death. But go on with your narrative. Ph. A crucifix and wax candle were handed to the sick man. Of the cross he said,-My shield used to be my defence in battle; now this is the shield which I shall oppose to the enemy and having kissed it, he placed it at his left shoulder. Look-pose you would not wish this account ing to the sacred candle, he said, Formerly I employed a spear wherewith to charge the foe; but this is the spear, which I shall brandish against the enemy of souls. M. He could not forget that he was a soldier. Ph. These were the last words he was able to utter; for life by this time was ebbing fast. Bernardin hung over the dying man at his right hand, Vincent at his left. One displayed an image of St. Francis, the other of St. Dominic. The others in different parts of the chamber repeated over the psalms in a low and mournful tone: Bernardin thundered with all his might in his right ear, Vincent in his left. M. What did they say? M. What you observe is very just: Ph. Bernardin vociferates, George but I would fain know the manner of Balearicus, if you now join in the Cornelius's death, Ph. He lived things which we are performing, bend without troubling any one, and he your head to the right. He bent it. died in the same manner. He suffered Vincent on the other side cries out, from a fever which had regularly reDont be afraid, George, you have turned upon him for several years; Francis and Dominic for your cham- and being advanced considerably pions; be of good cheer. Think what beyond sixty, either his age, or some a fund of merit you have what a more obscure cause, was the means diploma! Remember, my soul is by which the disease was excited to pledged for yours; so it is impossible assume a severity beyond what it you should be in danger. If you un- used to display; so that he was fully derstand and consent to what we are impressed with the idea that his time saying, bend your head to the left. drew near. About four days before He bent it. Again, as loud as they his death (it was the Lord's day) he could bawl they vociferated, If you went to church, confessed to the pa understand what we are doing, press rish priest, attended the public serour hands. He pressed them. In vice, and after sermon received the this manner, bending his head some- pledge of the Lord's body in the holy times in one direction, sometimes in sacrament, and then returned to his another, he continued for nearly three house. M. Were there no physicians hours. When at last it became ap- in attendance? Ph. He was visited parent that he was at his last gasp, by one only, who was no less a good Bernardin standing beside him, pro- man than a skilful physician. He ins nounced the absolution; but, before formed him that he would gladly emhe could finish it, George had expired. ploy his utmost ability for his benefit; This happened about midnight, and but he would recommend him rather on the following morning the body to seek assistance from the Almighty was opened. than from medicine. Cornelius received the information thus conveyed to him as cheerfully as if it contained an assured hope of recovery. Therefore, although he had been in the habit of assisting the poor according to M. What, after all, was found to be the nature of the disease? Ph. A piece of lead was found imbedded in the diaphragm, which was supposed to have been part of a shot with which his ability, with a due regard to the future circumstances of his wife and children, he now imparted his alms to the necessitous; not to bold and idle beggars, but to the honest and industrious, who preferred the bread procured by labour to that which is obtained from the hand of charity. I entreated him to lie on the bed, and that the priest might be called; and not to continue to wear out his already emaciated body. He replied, that it always had been his wish rather to alleviate the burdens of his friends than to increase them; and he saw no reason to depart from his usual practice at his last. He did not keep his bed more than the last day, and part of the night on which he expired. Because of his weakness, he mostly leaned on his staff, or sat in his armchair; when he lay down, which was but seldom, he kept his clothes on, and maintained as much as possible an erect posture. At this time he was engaged either in giving orders for assisting some of his poor neighbours, or in reading the Bible; dwelling chiefly on those parts that treat of confidence in God, or of his love to men. When from weakness he became incapable of reading, he got a friend to read to him. He frequently and earnestly entreated his family to study mutual love and peace, to apply their hearts to genuine religion, endeavouring also in the most tender manner to console them amidst their fears for his life. He also recommended to them not to suffer any debt of his to remain unpaid. M. Did he not proceed to make his will? Ph. He had taken care of this in his days of health; for he could not believe it possible to do it in a proper manner when oppressed with sickness. M. But did he not bequeath something to monasteries and to the poor? Ph. Not a farthing. He remarked on that point, that he had distributed during his lifetime according to his ability; and now with his property he bequeathed the same obligation to charity, to those that came after him; he had no doubt, he said, that they would fulfil this duty better than he had done. M. Did he not solicit the attendance of the religious orders, as George did under the like circumstances? Ph. He did not. No one was present beside his family and two intimate friends. M. What reason had he for this? Ph. That he no more needed the assistance of a multitude to help him to die, than to be born. On the Thursday he did not leave the bed, on account of bis great weakness. The priest being requested to visit him, performed the office of extreme unction, and administered the sacrament of the body of the Lord: but he did not enter on confession; for he said there were no scruples that troubled his mind. The priest then inquired about the place of burial, and the manner in which the funeral should be conducted. Bury me, he replied, as you would bury the meanest Christian. It matters not where you place my poor body; in the last day it will be found, place it where you will. When mention was made of ringing the bells, of the thirty masses, anniversaries, the diploma, and purchase of an interest in the merits of saints, he interrupted him, " My good pastor, I shall not be the worse, if no bell tolls for me; if you deem me worthy of the common sacred service at the funeral, it is enough for me; or, if you judge it needful, in compliance with the prejudices of the weak in faith, to do any thing more, I leave it to your judg ment; but I have no desire to barter with any for their prayers, nor to rob any man of his good works. Christ has a sufficiency of merit for me. Let me be a spiritual member of the church, and I am sure of possessing an interest in all its prayers and works. In these two diplomas is all my hope one is, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the chief Shepherd, hath abolished my sins, nailing them to his cross. The other is, that he hath written and signed with his blood, that we shall be sure of eternal life, if we remove our confidence from every other object, and place it on him alone. Far be it from me to build my dependence on merits and diplomas, and so provoke the Lord to enter into a strict account with his servant; being well assured that in his sight no flesh living shall be justified. I appeal from his justice to his mercy, because it is immeasurable and inexpressible." When the priest had received this answer, he took his leave. Cornelius's soul, filled with joy that could not be expressed, through an assured hope of salvation, requested some one to read those parts of the he will love the children he adopts with you. Beware of binding yourself with a vow. Keep your freedom, that you may be able to act as God shall appoint to you, and as the benefit of our children may require. Educate them in such a general course of pious instruction, as not to bring them to any particular employment, until from their age and peculiar aptitude you shall discover what it is for which they are best qualified. sacred volume that treat of the resur-own goodness, or out of regard to you, rection of the dead, and the blessedness prepared of God for those that fear him. He appeared to drink in these things with eagerness, sometimes whispering to himself, giving thanks with uplifted hands for the encouragement afforded him, ejaculating short sentences of prayer, and maintaining throughout a frame of mind the most lively and happy imaginable. About midday, when he had taken a little sleep, he requested that the 12th chapter of St. John's Gospel might be read. At this period he seemed no longer himself, but rather like one filled with the holy Spirit of God. In the evening he desired his wife and children to stand around him, and he thus addressed them:-My dearest wife, God first joined us together, and now he is about to disjoin us; but the separation is of the body only, and but for a short period: that care, that love and pious affection, which in time past you have divided between these dear pledges and me, must now be transferred wholly to them. Nothing you can do will be so pleasing to God, or so grateful to me, as the bringing up these dear pledges of our union in such a manner as that they may be the servants of Christ. Inasmuch as they are about to lose my attention and watchful care, let your's towards them be doubled. If you do this, as I have no doubt you will, they will not discover that they are orphans. If it should so happen that you should contract a second marriage ;-when he said this, his wife burst into tears, and declared that nothing could be further from her soul than such an idea. Cornelius replied, My dearest sister in Christ, if the Lord Jesus shall judge you worthy of this, by placing it in your power, and giving you the mind, put not away the heavenly gift; for it may be best both for you and our children. If, on the other hand, weakness of nature shall sway you, recollect, that though my death looses you from the law of marriage, it does not set you free from the faith whereby, for mine and your own sake, you should take care of our children. So far as regards marriage, use the liberty which the Lord has given you. This only do I request, and for your own sake advise, that you choose a man of such character that either from his Then turning to the children, he exhorted them to the study of piety; to obey their mother, and to preserve mutual love and peace between themselves. Having concluded what he had to say, he kissed his wife; and having made the sign of the cross, he prayed for every blessing on his children, and that the mercy of Christ might rest upon them. Then looking round on all who were present, he said, By to-morrow morning, the Lord, who is the dayspring from on high, will in his great mercy think my poor soul worthy of being translated from this sepulchre of a body, and from the darkness of mortality, into his heavenly light. I do not desire that any should be fatigued with watching by me. Let one only continue to sit up at once; he shall read the Scrips tures to me, and you shall relieve one another by turns. About four o'clock in the morning he desired all present to repeat the psalm which our Lord made use of when on the cross. When this had been done, he requested that the wax candle and the cross should be brought to him: taking the former, he said,-Thou, Lord, art my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? He kissed the cross, and said,-Thou, Lord, art, the keeper of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Then laying his hands on his breast in the posture of prayer, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! His eyes then closed as if in sleep, and his last breath was too gentle to be perceived. M. I ne ver heard of a more easy death. Ph. His life and death were of a piece. -Both these men were my friends; perhaps I should do wrong to judge which died in the most Christian manner. You, who are not swayed by partiality to either, may be able to form the clearer judgment. M. To do so requires deliberation. CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION CONSIDER- [The following article has been long in our MR. EDITOR. umph, which, after years of labour, and amidst unexampled opposition, was achieved by yourself, in the cause of humanity and justice, has desig nated you the champion of freedom, in the most large and extensive sense; while the various other services of your active life, in the cause of divine truth and sound morality, have placed your character, as it were, on a pin SIR, Much has been said, through the medium of your valuable miscel-nacle of the temple, and proved you lany, on the Catholic claims; and your the uniform advocate and friend of readers must feel indebted to your pure and undefiled religion. True correspondent Omega for the able piety and legitimate liberty, indeed, manner in which he has, in Vol. II., are twin sisters, which will ever walk advocated the Protestant cause, a hand in hand, and mutually afford cause worthy to be espoused; whilst stability and grace to each other. It his arguments have not failed to prove was therefore entirely in unison with that Papal intolerance still exists in each of those blessed principles, that, the hearts and actions (which super- while your private and public actions sede words) of these our ancient have tended to display the power and foes. Religion has recently received extend the influence of vital religion, several severe attacks; and one at- they have equally served to promote tempt is doubtless fresh in the recol- and recommend genuine liberty, the lection of many of the readers of your birthright of every Englishman, whework, I allude to that memorable ther regarded in a spiritual or secular day when the late member for Dublin point of view. introduced that clause into the Catholic bill, which, had it been carried, would have proved fatal to this country, "when a majority of only four individuals wrought its deliverance." "With this conviction on my mind, of the nature and extent of our common obligations to such a Christian and to such a statesman as yourself, it is with feelings of surprise amounting to astonishment, and with emotions of concern little short of pain, that I contemplate your late vote in favour of the undefined and undefinable claims of the Roman Catholics. When I observe such a man, one It was in consequence of a certain member's name being found in the list of the minority, that a letter (of which the enclosed is an extract) was written, which appears to contain some important facts relative to the subject before us. From this convic-whom it is impossible to consider as tion, I venture to forward it; and should it be deemed likely to prove in any way useful, its insertion in some future number of the Imperial Magazine, of which I am a constant reader, will much oblige me. A very fair specimen of the benefits likely to result from Catholic emancipation is presented to us in Vol. III. col. 600, an article similar to one which appeared in the "Times" a few weeks afterwards. Facts like these cannot fail to carry conviction to any mind disposed to give the subject a full and fair investigation, that the real object of the Papists is ultimately to overturn the Protestant religion. I am, very respectfully, a friend to religious liberty, influenced by mere party motives, espousing the untenable cause of what is sophistically termed Catholic Emancipation, and venturing on so tremendous an experiment as investing Catholics with legislative and executive power in this Protestant nation; I seek in vain for the reasons of such conduct in any part of your religious or political life, and am only left to deplore, in common with multitudes who entertain the same regard for your character as I unfeignedly do, that you should have thus lent the splendour of your name, and the weight of your influence, to the ancient and implacable foes of the church and the state, and, in spite of the accumulated wisdom and experience of past ages, have un-, ESQ. M.P. wittingly ranged yourself on the side "SIR,-The acknowledged value and of spiritual darkness, Papal intoler importance of that great public tri-rance, and political bondage. What LETTER ADDRESSED TO J. B. ever may be the cause, either remote or proximate, of the error into which you thus appear to have fallen, I will at least venture to affirm, that if either ancient or modern history is to be credited, the obvious and necessary consequence of success in such a cause as you have espoused, must be to introduce into this nation, at no very distant period, the errors of a worldly religion, the cruelties of an intolerant priesthood, and the curse of arbitrary power. nefit of that additional fact, to shew that the head of the Catholic church is resolved to employ the same subtle and nefarious agents to overturn the Protestant faith, as were originally instituted for its destruction? Nay, have you not the means of knowing that the Jesuits are at this moment exerting themselves with all their might in Germany, Hungary, and Poland, not only to overturn the Bible Societies in those empires, but to vex and injure all who support them; and is not your present political course in the very face of such fresh light and information? 66 If, indeed, the Catholics of our nation had declared themselves against the revival of an order which has always been the greatest scourge and curse of the Christian and civilized "Whatever scepticism there may be among many Protestants upon such points, it is impossible, sir, that you should doubt any one of these three truths: first, that Popery is a secular religion, and not the religion of the Bible; secondly, that the Popish church has, in principle and practice, ever been a persecuting church; and, third-world, there would perhaps be some ly, that there has always subsisted between Popery and despotism a necessary and inevitable connexion. These are facts which, with the history of all nations, and especially of our own, in your hands, you cannot but admit; I therefore shall not at present stop to prove them. "The fallacy, then, which appears to have conducted many Protestants to the conclusion which they have formed, is a supposition that, although such things have been, they will never be again; that the church of Rome is no longer intolerant; that Roman Catholics may now assist as legislators in making laws for Protestants, and as judges, juries, and magistrates in executing those laws; that the religion of Popery is not now so corrupt a thing as our forefathers considered it; and that whatever foolish fears they entertained of its arbitrary and tyrannizing policy, we may now, in all candour and charity, very safely trust ourselves and our children to the tender mercies of such a system. "Permit me, however, sir, to inquire how it has appeared to you that Popery has changed its character? If, on that memorable night when you voted for the clause of Mr. Grattan's bill which would have given seats in Parliament to the Catholics, and when only a majority of four delivered our country from such a clause and such a bill together; if, I say, on that occasion, you had not the experience of the pope's reviving the order of Jesuits, have you not now the beNo. 66.-VOL. VI. excuse for your separating the cause of Jesuitism from that of Popery; but the Catholics, to a man, have made common cause with those agents of crime and darkness, and have applauded and defended the order in every way. It is well known to you, that the great English advocate of Catholic church and claims, in the last work which he has published, and which he has thought fit (for reasons not very difficult to conceive) to dedicate to yourself, eulogizes that order in the highest terms, and publicly stands forth as its champion, in defiance of the clearest case of moral and political turpitude which was ever established against any society. "At the period also when Mr. Grattan's bill was rejected, the head of the holy Roman church had not established the inquisition; but it is under the knowledge of that awful fact that your late political course has been shaped, and that, notwithstanding the revival of this most sanguinary tribunal in Christian Europe, by the pretended vicar of the Prince of peace, you are content to hope better things from a church, which, as she has been "drunk with the blood of the saints" from her earliest history, is evidently unwilling to surrender her claim to her ancient and scriptural designation. "Thus also, when Mr. Grattan's bill was rejected, the modern thunderbolt of the Vatican had not been launched against the circulation of the Bible in the vulgar tongue. It is inquired 2 L |