It is worthy

well nigh perishing, because it bore upon its back an unfortunate name. of better treatment. Permit me to read it, and judge for yourselves." His two companions nodded assent, while O'Moor read the valentine as follows:

THE OLD BACHELOR'S VALENTINE SENT TO A BROTHER.—A Dirge.

ALAS! my dear friend, I will freely confess,

That my days like your own are a stranger to bliss.
Lo! Valentine's here; I behold him once more,

And he finds me as hapless as ever before.
Last time he thought I despised his power,

For his frown was dark and his face was sour;
And sullenly gleamed the benevolent eye,
That sparkled so bright in the days gone by;

But alas! alack! and ah-well-a-day!

For ever those days have passed away!

'Tis more than thirty full years ago

Since his kind old face I learned to know;

I was hardly nineteen when he brought me a pen,
And urged me strongly, and urged me again
To write a few lines to some fair dame,

With full permission to use his name.

But the fair of those days are matrons grown,
With loved ones to cherish and call their own;
Alas! alack! and ah-well-a-day!

How swift have sped these years away!

Bright were his smiles in these glorious years,
Gladly his promises rang in my ears;

I joyfully hailed his welcome day,
Prefiguring valentines sweet and gay;
Prefiguring the fair ones with blushes faint,
Receiving the gifts of the good old saint:
And divining at once with undue haste
The writers of lines, so timidly traced—
But alas! alack! and ah-well-a-day!
Those glorious years have passed away!
And suddenly o'er me swept a change,
O'er earth's wide surface I'm bid to range:
1 bade long adieu to my native land,
And long I abode on the stranger strand,
And for many a year on that stranger shore,

My spirit I feasted on antique lore;

Bent over the graves of the glorious dead
Too little I recked of the years that fled;
For alas! alack! and ah-well-a-day!

Such years fly swift, fly swift away!

When, at last, I came back, the saint looked cold,
And at every new visit more ready to scold;
Till vanished at last were his accents gay,
And frowning and stern he'd chidingly say-
"If you don't write soon to some fair dame,
I'll revoke all permission to use my name."
"Sweet saint!" would I answer ruefully,
"None fair or brown now cares for me!

For alas! alack! and ah-well-a-day!

The good old times have passed away!"

But hush! here he comes, and, strange to tell,

With the pleasant old look that becomes him well,-
"Ha! ha! at last!" he cries with glee,

"Ah! Now you are penning those lines I see;
It gladdens my heart, for I had really thought
The permission I gave you had surely forgot;
Her name?" "Not Her! Kind patron you see
I'm writing these lines to brother G.
For alas! alack! and ah-well-a-day!

Old times for ever have passed away!"

"There," exclaimed O'Moor, as he finished the last line, and perceiving his co-laborers indulging in a hearty laugh; "there, is there any thing in that objectionable?”

"Nothing in the least, Mr. O'Moor; still its name I fear would render it exceptionable." "Then change its name."

"No, Mr. O'Moor, I think with Father C., that it ought not to be inserted. Our magazine you know

"O that's always the cry: our magazine. I believe in my soul, Mr. Oliver, if you had your own way, you would make a prayer book of it. However, the majority rules, and I submit to your superior judgments, but at the same time I must protest against this thing of always having our readers in straight jackets, and their faces as long as if they were reading the Lamentations of the Prophet."

"Well, I will not insist," continued O'Moor, taking up a copy of Longfellow's Hiawatha. "Here, Mr. Oliver, is the very work that will suit your taste;-Longfellow's last and greatest effort."

"Oh Mr. O'Moor! don't shock us with that catalogue of Indian names."

"Indian names! Mr. Oliver, you hav'nt the smallest spark of poetical composition in your soul. I admit that no small amount of critical nonsense has been written and printed concerning this remarkable poem. While one man finds nothing in it but a tiresome catalogue of Indian names, another sees in it the Niebelungen Lied of a new and native literature. The metre too has been as great a puzzle as the matter. We are treated to grave dissertations on its probable Finnish origin, and the critics, with all their official omniscience, have strangely forgotten the fact that the measure is any thing but a rare one. We have numerous examples of it in Italian and French, and it is by no means unknown in English. It is surprising that any one who ever heard the "Dies iræ "should trouble himself about the origin of this metre. It is true that in that noble hymn the lines are rhymed, but the measure is identical with that of Hiawatha. But I will not anticipate, for it is my intention to present in our next number, a full review of this delightful and original poem. Meanwhile I will take the liberty of saying that it is very far from diminishing the well-earned reputation of its author for elegant, finished and scholarly poetry."

Here the clock struck twelve, and closed our labors for the evening.

LECTURE BY THE MOST REV. ARCHBISHOP HUGHES.-The illustrious Archbishop of New York delivered a lecture in our city on 17th ultimo. before the Young Catholics' Friend Society, the proceeds of which are to be applied towards promoting the benevolent objects of the society. The audience was one of the largest ever assembled on a similar occasion in this city. The distinguished prelate selected for his subject-The Present Condition and the future Prospects of the Catholic Church in America. The subject being one of deep interest to every Catholic in the country, we will recur to it more at large in our next number,

9

VOL. IV.-No. 1.

LETTER FROM THE FATHERS OF THE EIGHTH COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, to the Councils of the Work of the Propagation of the Faith.-The following letter, taken from the November number of the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, will be read with pleasure by all who feel an interest in the objects of that praiseworthy institution:

BALTIMORE, May 18th, 1855. GENTLEMEN: The Eighth Council of Baltimore, by which these lines are addressed to you, is no longer that assembly of prelates from all the dioceses of the United States of North America, the voice of which, three years ago, gave expression to the thanks of upwards of thirty Archbishops and Bishops towards your work; even the number of those who were to have assembled here in council, and with whom we expected to meet again when duty convened us, has diminished by one-fourth since the council of 1852. Death has deprived us of the valuable talents of the Bishop of Charleston, and the services of the zealous and indefatigable Bishop of Savannah; but the death, as well as the life of these two prelates, has reflected great honor upon the Episcopacy. The Right Rev. Dr. Reynolds has worn himself out in the service of his church; more happy still the Right Rev. Dr. Gartland, of Savannah, in having fallen a victim to his charity. During the past summer the yellow fever ravaged his episcopal town with unprecedented virulence. Every one who had the means sought to escape by flight from the frightful and disastrous scourge; but this good pastor, ready to lay down his life for his flock, remained at his post, seeking after those whom the pest had attacked, and actuated solely by the desire of gaining souls to heaven. Two of his priests (he had only three near him) were disabled by fever; the Right Rev. Dr. Barron, ex-missionary Bishop of an African colony, and who was for the time stationed with Bishop Gartland to assist in attending the sick, died gloriously in the exercise of his duties; but the generous and heroic prelate was only thereby inspired with greater zeal for the salvation of souls. At length, the malady attacked him also, and he died calm and resigned, a true martyr of charity. His solicitude for the wants of his flock, as well as his unremitting labors, had doubtless, Gentlemen, already enfeebled and predisposed him for the attack of the disease; and there can be no doubt that Dr. Reynold's death was accelerated by the

same cause.

There remained only six Suffragan Bishops in the province of Baltimore, but the dioceses of Charleston and Savannah are represented by their worthy administrators. Several of us have made known to you, in particular, the wants and progress of our respective dioceses, and have considered it a duty and a pleasure to acknowledge the generous liberality of the Association, of which you, Gentlemen, are the administrators. Assembled as we now are, we are anxious to manifest, in common, the same sentiments that we have expressed individually: we thank you sincerely for all the zeal that you exercise in favor of the American Missions: we pray, and solicit the prayers of the faithful in our dioceses, for you. Through you we beg to express the sentiments of our hearts towards those generous souls, who, in every country, are associated with the work of the Propagation of the Faith. Moreover, we assure you that we entertain an earnest desire to cooperate with you, as soon as and as far as circumstances will permit.

But, Gentlemen, allow us also to call your attention to the urgent and constantly recurring wants of the dioceses confided to us, and to represent to you, with one common voice, that in several dioceses of this province these wants are very great. Without enumerating any in particular, suffice it to observe, that there is scarcely one that has not a claim to your charitable solicitude. But we fully appreciate your good will towards us and our Missions, and we do not consider that we need add a word to this general testimony, with respect to the state of our province. You will have learnt from the public papers, and the private letters of the Bishops, the progress that Catholicity is making, the increase in the number of churches and priests, and the multiplication of the faithful, still more rapid than that of the temples of religion.

We rejoice at these results; and you, Gentlemen, have great reason to participate in our joys, having consoled us in our labors, and facilitated our progress. May God reward you, by bestowing on you, on earth, the treasures of his heavenly riches, and granting you, after this life, the crown promised to the faithful and zealous servant. The Archbishop and the Bishops of the province of Baltimore, assembled in council, beg you will accept, Gentlemen, the expression of their sentiments of profound respect. In the name of the Bishops of the Council,

(Signed)

FRANCIS PATRICK KENRICK, Archbishop of Baltimore.

From December 20, 1855, to January 20, 1856.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

ROME. The first anniversary of the definition of the Immaculate Conception was celebrated with due solemnity on the 8th of December at the great church of St. John. The Holy Father, with the sacred College of Cardinals, assisted at the holy Sacrifice of Mass, and at the Te Deum chanted on the occasion. The decorations of the church were in keeping with the solemnity of the festival. Hangings of silk and gauze, of velvet, and cloth of gold of the richest lustre, and 40,000 lights, formed a part of the splendor of the decorations. A solemn Trideum preceded the festival, and the vigil was observed throughout the city as a strict fast day: this the Holy Father granted at the request of the municipal authorities.

A Conspiracy Discovered.-A conspiracy, which meditated the most atrocious crimes, has lately been detected in the Holy City. The particulars have not yet transpired. The police had information of a meeting of the conspirators at the house of a butcher in the Via Laurina, and accordingly made a descent upon the premises, made a number of arrests and got possession of some important papers.-On the 18th of December last, His Holiness, in consistory, proclaimed the admission into the Sacred College of four additional Cardinals. The newly created Cardinals are all foreigners except one; their names and country are as follows: Mgr. Ranscher, Archbishop of Vienna, is an Austrian; Mgr. De Reisarch, Archbishop of Munich, a Bavarian; Mgr. Villecourt, Bishop of La Rochelle, a native of France, and Mgr. R. P. Grande, Procureur-General of the Dominicans, a Piedmontese. The Archbishop of Vienna will retain his see, the other three will reside at Rome, in order to inaugurate the re-establishment of the ancient usage of the Holy See of having in curia a certain number of foreign cardinals.

SARDINIA.—A debate recently took place in the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies of no small degree of interest. It may be remembered that for a number of years an annual allowance has been regularly made for the support of the ministers of a sect of Protestants called the Waldenses. The present government proposed to the Chamber to continue the grant. This was opposed by several of the most influential members, headed by Conte Costa de la Tour and Conte Solar de la Marguerite, on the ground that the government is at this moment taking from the Catholics the undenied and undisputed property of the Church, solely on the ground of financial difficulties. If then, it was argued, it makes a grant to Protestants, it is in fact giving to one that which it takes from the other.

SPAIN. The country is tranquil. A bill for the reformation of the tariff, and another for the establishment of a Spanish Bank of Credit Mobelier, was in progress. Four Carlist prisoners were lately shot at Mancesa.

FRANCE.-Active preparations are still kept up for a vigorous prosecution of the war, nevertheless certain indications would induce the belief that France is desirous of a speedy termination of hostilities. It is said that the Emperor is strongly in favor of calling a European Congress to settle not only the Eastern difficulty, but also all the complications of European relations since the Congress of Vienna. And in connection with this idea, a pamphlet has appeared in Paris under the title of Necessite d'un Congress pacafier l'Europe, which is ascribed to the Emperor himself. England is reported to be much opposed to this project, fearing the influence of France in such an assembly. A grand Council of War is to be held in Paris of all the generals who have returned from the Crimea. A large body of troops have returned from the Crimea. Their reception was attended with every demonstration of respect; the Emperor welcomed them in terms of the highest eulogy.

The Ottoman Ambassador at Paris has notified Prince Napoleon that the Sultan, desirous of giving a proof of his gratitude to the French army, offers to his Imperial Highness all the articles sent by the Ottoman Empire to the Parish Exhibition of 1855, to be sold for the benefit of the widows and orphans of the army in the East.

While an unparalleled prosperity reigns through the empire, the condition of the Church is truly gratifying to the Catholic. Never was the intercourse with Rome more frequent. The congregation of bishops and regulars is daily besieged by a crowd of religious corporations from every part of France, soliciting the approbation of their institutions and rules. The religious congregations, especially at Paris, both male and female, are rapidly increasing in number and in the extent of their establishments. The order of St. Francis has just completed two new Capuchin convents, one close by the Boulevard Montparnasse, the other in the Rue du Faubourg, St. Jaques. The establishment of the Oratorians, known as that of the Immaculate Conception, situated in the Rue de Calais, has removed to a larger site in the Rue de Regard, where a chapel of imposing dimensions is in course of erection. In the Rue de Sèvres a large new church is rising for the use of the Jesuit community established there. The order of Cistercian Friars is on the point of being re-established in France, under imperial patronage. A former general of the order, now of very advanced age, the Père Mossi, accompanied, it appears, the Abbé Lucien Bonaparte, now a Benedictine, to Paris. The influence of the latter has obtained for the Père Mossi, a friend of his childhood, the authorisation and the means to restore his congregation to France. The Emperor too, on every occasion, manifests the liveliest interest in the welfare of religion. He recently gave a splendid breakfast service, in silver, to a lottery for a charitable purpose, which was held by the Society of St. Vincent of Paul.

ENGLAND.-A decision emanating from the Consistory Court, London, has given rise to much dissatisfaction to a portion of the members of the Established Church. The Rev. Mr. Liddell, a Puseyite minister, had adorned his church with flowers, pictures, crosses, and other things, that gave it the appearance of a Catholic chapel. These decorations gave offence to the warden, Mr. Western, who laid the subject before the Bishop of London, but failed to obtain a redress. He then applied to the Consistory Court. Here he obtained a verdict to the effect that the ornaments, crosses and candlesticks should be removed: that the stone credence table should be substituted for one of wood, and the various colored cloths to be changed for plain white linen.-Parliament at latest dates was further prorogued until the 31st inst.-Rumors of a prospect of peace were current, but it is stated that a difference of opinion existed on the subject. Palmerston and Panmure urge the prosecution of the war; the rest of the cabinet suggest the importance of embracing the present opportunity to negotiate for peace.-Baron Parke, one of the judges of England, retires from the bench and is to be raised to the Peerage under the title of Lord Ampthill.-Conversion.-The Rev. Mr. Wheeler, rector of New Shoreham, recently renounced Protestantism and was received into the bosom of the Catholic Church.-Catholicity in England.-From the Catholic Directory we learn that there are in England at present, 944 priests, 708 churches, chapels and stations, 17 religious houses and communities for men, and 91 convents.

IRELAND. The trial of Father Petcherine in Dublin for the alleged offence of burning some copies of the bible, gave rise to the most intense interest in Ireland. Father Petcherine belongs to the Order of Redemptorists, is Russian by birth, and a convert to our holy faith. His family is said to be of the nobility of Russia. The trial was concluded on the 8th of December, and the jury, composed of Catholics and Protestants, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of not guilty. The Tablet of the 15th ultimo thus describes the scene that followed:

"A momentary pause, as if by common consent, followed the declaration of the verdict; and then a cheer, deafening and prolonged, rang through the court, unchecked by the looks of the judges, the gestures of the law officers, or the strenuous exertions of the constables. Not alone did the men-most of them of the respectable class-who filled the gallery, darken the air with their hats, sticks, and umbrellas, amid the exciting