Christ came to establish.

The substantial au

thenticity of what Christ did and suffered and taught, is thus ascertained with that degree of moral certainty, which is perfectly adapted to convince the learned and the unlearned, and to become a practical principle of conduct, of faith, and hope, to every one who wishes to purify his heart, and to place himself under the guidance of the Spirit of Christ.

ABATE. And is this the end of all your controversy?

MR. M.-It is.

ABATE. And will you not accompany me tomorrow to see Saint Thomas's finger, to drink the miraculous water with which St. Peter baptized the keepers of the prison, to see how the blood of our saints grows liquid, and boils and bubbles? Will you not come to see these wonders, attested and supported by that holy Church, which is the living oracle of truth: that Church before whom you used to wish that the world should prostrate itself in silence; that Church which you so nobly, so learnedly, so

liberally, and so philosophically defended, in two volumes of exquisite divinity?

MR. M.-No, Sir; I wish to be excused. ABATE. NOW, I wish the Pope had sent you a letter of thanks, with an apostolical injunction, never to travel to Rome."

Though impressed with the solemnity of the thoughts which I had expressed, I could not help smiling with the rest of the company at the vivacity and delicate irony of the Abate.

He was about leaving us, when Rose Cusiack, in one of her prettiest looks, said, Signor Abate are we safe from an order to quit Rome within four and twenty hours? The Abate, taking her hand with an air of the most refined gallantry, bowed and said:"How could any mortal betray even one word of what had passed here! Has not all been said not only under the Rose, but under the Queen of Roses?

I was not at all disposed to be jealous. So we all laughed, shook the Orthodox Abate by the hand, and went to bed.

CHAPTER IX.

Death of Mr. Fitzgerald.—Conclusion.

Few days had elapsed since at the chapel of the Prussian Minister, B.* (England having no representative at Rome) the blessing of Mr. Fitzgerald had made me the happiest of men, when that best and worthiest friend fell dangerously ill. He had been an invalid for many years. The excitement of the journey and the amusement which he derived from the beautiful views of art and nature which constantly surrounded us, seemed to have restored him to the

* If the editor were at liberty to bestow his praise more distinctly, he would rejoice in bearing testimony to the enlightened and pious views of a real individual, who, though personally unknown to him, has lately become an object of his Christian love, and brotherly feeling. May God's blessing be upon the person alluded to, and may his endeavours to promote real Christianity, independently of party views, prosper for the benefit of all "who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity."-Editor.

meridian of life and, sometimes, even to the glow of youth. But a violent attack of illness came suddenly upon him. In two or three days the acute symptoms had subsided; but the prostration of his strength showed clearly that the hand of death had inflicted the wound which was to lay the good man in his grave. Fitzgerald was fully aware of his state.

Mr.

When

the physician returned an evasive answer to his forebodings he smiled upon those who stood round his bed, saying, "My kind friend, Dr. Wallis, seems to grudge me the early enjoyment of a piece of news for which I have longed many years. But it is beyond his power to conceal that the expected release is at hand." Dr. Wallis assured him that though, considering all the circumstances of the case, he must allow there was great danger, yet he did not conceive the termination of the patient's sufferings to be very near. "My sufferings-my acute sufferings I mean (replied the patient) are over, and I have a strong hope that my departure will be tranquil. I thank God that my mental facul

ties are in full vigour and that I shall be able yet a while to converse with the dear friends whom a merciful providence has sent me just in time to surround my death bed, and to comfort my last moments."

The utmost effort was necessary in Captain. Cusiack and myself to suppress the emotions which these words produced.

The patient now desired to be alone for some time. We left the room; and began to think how we were to communicate the sad news with the least possible shock to the ladies. But where there exist real love and esteem, all attempts to soften a communication of this kind are vain. Never did friendship give way to the tenderness of sorrow more irresistibly than in the present case.

Captain Cusiack seized the hand of his mother, who, bending her head so as almost to hide it between her knees, seemed unwilling to receive comfort in words. But she felt the meaning of the pressure which the hand of the stout hearted and affectionate sailor conveyed, and tried to