THE life of Ignatius, founder of the order of Jesuits, was written by F. Ribadeneyra, one of the society, and intimately acquainted

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with the faint. Ignatius, like most other fanatics who have set up these kinds of religious focieties, began with practising great aufterities and abominable flovenlinefs: for "he went bare-headed night and day, never "ufing a comb, or any thing of that kind; "and alfo fuffered his nails and beard to

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grow without cutting." He flept very little, and always on the ground; prayed every day feven hours upon his knees, and daily fcourged himself three times very fharply.

WE may be certain that the father of fo confiderable a fraternity as that of the Jesuits came not at all behind the most eminent faints of the Romish church, either in conflicts with the deyil, in working of miracles, or in divine manifeftations. Accordingly, narratives are given of many conquests he obtained over Satan, of whom, at last, he made fo little account, that " he did as eafily drive "him away with the staff in his hand, as if "he had been a cat or a little dog." We have also a long lift of diftempers miraculously cured by him, which are not worth my inferting but fome of the heavenly appearances and revelations he was favoured

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with, are too remarkable to be here omitted. "When he had put himself under the banner "of Chrift, fearing the weakness of the flesh, "the most excellent Queen of angels, having "her most precious Son in her arms, appeared unto him, as he was awake, and with "the fplendor of her glory enlightened him, " with the sweetness of her prefence recreated " and strengthened him, blotting out of his "foul (as it were with her hand) all unclean "cogitations and dishonest representations.” After this, as he was travelling towards Rome with two companions, "God the Father," fays my author, "appeared to him, together "with his moft blessed Son, who carried the " cross upon his shoulders; * * * * and he

(the faint) faw that the eternal Father,

turning to his only-begotten Son, recom"mended Ignatius, and those in his company, "unto him with exceeding great love, put

ting them into his hands," *** who "with a loving and mild countenance said

unto him, Ego vobis Romæ propitius ero: "i. e. I will be favourable to you at Rome.”› At another time, as the faint was fitting upon the steps of St. Dominic's church at Manrefa, "our Lord opened his understanding, and "represented unto him, as it were, a figure "of the most holy Trinity, which outwardly "fignified unto him that which he inwardly R 4 "perceived;

"perceived; and this with such abundant "comfort, that he could not think or speak "of any thing but of the mystery of the most

holy Trinity." And tho' his learning, at this time, went no farther than to read and write, yet he wrote a book of eighty leaves on that profound fubject. Orlandus affures us, that Ignatius faw the bleffed Trinity, as plainly as we fee one another, under a corporeal representation.

THE life of St. Francis, wrote by Bonaventure, a brother faint, contains an account of miracles, to which, refpecting the number of them, all that are recorded to have been wrought by Chrift and his apostles are not to be compared: and many of the adventures this faint was engaged in, and the feats he performed, were as wild and romantic as any related of Don Quixote. At one time being faint, and wanting fomewhat to refresh him, he turned water into wine. At another time, defiring to be folaced by mufic, he was immediately gratified by angels, On a certain occafion, being thronged on the feashore by a crowd of people, who wanted, through mere devotion, to touch him, he leaped into a ship, which of itself, like a reafonable creature, and without the help of any perfon, withdrew to a convenient diftance from the land; and then remained un

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moveable amidst the waves, 'till the holy man had preached to the multitude. But when the fermon was ended, and the auditors, who had beheld this miracle with great aftonishment, were gone away, the ship, of its own accord, returned to the fhore.

AT the celebration of Christmas, in a village called Gracium, our faint caufed a manger to be prepared, fome hay put therein, and an ox and an afs brought to the place: he then performed mass upon the manger, and behold there appeared therein, "a little "child of great comeliness lying afleep, " which the bleffed father St. Francis, em

bracing in both his arms, did feem to "awake." This miracle, my author fays, "is of great force to ftir up the hearts of "fuch as are heavy and dull in the faith of

Chrift;" and the truth of it was fully proved, not only by the teftimony of a certain devout foldier of great virtue and credit, who was an eye-witness thereto; but also by the hay from the manger being in a marvellous manner effectual for the cure of fick cattle, and a fingular prefervative against divers kinds of peftilences.

ST. Francis conftantly accofted the mere animals, and even infects, by the names of brethren and fifters, and frequently converfed familiarly with them; and as St. Antony of Padua

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Padua preached to fifhes, fo did St. Francis to birds, who were fo wonderfully affected by his fermon, that they ftretched out their necks, fpread abroad their wings, opened their bills, and looked attentively upon him; and tho' he paffed close to them, they would not ftir, 'till the man of God had made the fign of the crofs, and given them his benediction, upon which they all flew away together.

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WADDING, in his annals, tells us, that our faint being to preach in the market-place at Trevi, the young foal of an afs ran up and down, and much disturbed him; upon which St. Francis, with a pleafing countenance, faid to him, "Brother ass, I defire "thee to ftand ftill, and not interrupt the "word of God, which I am now preaching "to this thirsty people." Immediately the afs fell upon his knees, and heard the fermon quite out.

In the Speculum vitæ Sancti Francifci, we are told there was a terrible wolf not far from Eugubium, which fparing neither man nor beaft, put the inhabitants in fo much fear, that they durft not ftir out of the gates of the city. St. Francis, moved with a pious zeal not to kill but to convert this wolf, goes, unarmed, out of the gates of the city, the people getting upon the tops of their houfes

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