ble. After the Satellites have taken the nails out of the hands and feet, they bring down the body of Jesus, and lay him in the coffin, and when the sermon is over, the procession begins, all in black, which is called the burying of Christ. In that procession, which is always in the dark of the evening, there are vast numbers of disciplinants that go along with it, whipping themselves, and shedding their blood, till the body of Jesus is put into the sepulchre. Then every body goes to adore the sepulchre, and after the adoration of it, begins the procession of the estations of the holy Calvary, of which I have spoken already in the second chapter of this book.

I will not deprive the public of another superstitious ceremony of the Romish Priests, which is very diverting, and by which their ignorance will be more exposed to the world; and this is practised on the Sunday before Easter, which is called Dominica Palmarum, in which the church commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, sitting on an ass, the people spreading their clothes and branches of olive trees on the ground: so, in imitation of this triumph, they do the same in some churches and convents.

The circumstance of one being representative of Jesus, on an ass, I never saw practised in Saragossa, and I was quite unacquainted with it till I went to Alvalate, a town that belongs to the archbishop in temporalibus and spiritualibus, whither I was obliged to retire with his Grace, in his precipitate flight from King Charles's army, for fear of being taken prisoner of state. We were there at the Franciscan convent on that Sunday, and the archbishop being invited to the cercmony of the religious triumph, I went with him to see it, which was performed in the following manner.

All the friars being in the body of the church, the guardian placing his Grace at the right hand, the procession began, every friar having a branch of olive trees in his hand, which was blessed by the Rev. Father Guardian; so the cross going before, the procession went out of the church to a large yard before it: But, what did we sec at the door of the church, but a fat friar, dressed like a Nazareen, on a clever ass, two friars holding the stirrups, and another pulling the ass by the bridle. The representative of Jesus Christ took place before the archbishop. The ass was an he one, though not so fat as the friar, but the ceremony of throwing branches and clothes before him, being quite strange to him, he began to start and caper, and at last threw down the heavy load of the friar.-The ass ran away, leaving the reverend on the ground, with one

arm broken. This unusual ceremony was so pleasing to us al, that his Grace, notwithstanding his deep melancholy, hughed heartily at it. The ass was brought back, and another friar, making the representative, put an end to this assike ceremony.

But the ignorance and superstition begins now; when the ceremony was over, a novice took the ass by the bridle, and began to walk in the cloister, and every friar made a reverence, passing by, and the people kneeling down before him, said, O happy ass! But his Grace displeased at so great a superstition, spoke to the guardian, and desired him not to suf fer his friars to give such an example to the ignorant people, as to adore the ass. The guardian was a pleasant man, and seeing the archbishop so melancholy, only to make him laugh, told his Grace that it was impossible for him to obey his Grace, without removing all his friars to another convent, and bring a new community. Why so? said his Grace. Because (replied the guardian) all my friars are he asses. And you the guardian of them (answered his Grace.) Thus priests and friars excite the people, to adore images.

But because this article of images, and that of relics, contribute very much to the discovery of the idolatries, and of the bigotries and superstitions of all those of that communion, I shall not leave this subject, without giving an account of some remarkable images which are worshipped and adored by them all.

They have innumerable images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the angels and saints in the streets, in small chapels built within the thickness of the walls, and most commonly in the corners of the streets, which the people adore, kneel down before, and make prayers and supplications to. They say, that many of those images have spoken to some devout persons, as that of St. Philip Nery did to a certain ambitious priest, who, walking through the street where the image was, was talking within himself, and saying, Now I am a priest, next year I hope to be a dean, after bishop, then cardinal, and after all, summus pontifex. To which soliloquy the image of St. Philip answered, And after all these honors comes death, and after death, hell and damnation forever. The priest, being surprised at this answer, so much apropos, and looking up and down, he saw the mouth of the image open, by which he concluded that the image had given him the answer; and so, taking a firm resolution to leave all the thoughts of this deccit ful world, with his own money he purchased the house where

the image was, and built a decent chapel in honor of St. Philip, which now, by the gifts of pious people, is so much enlarged, that we reckon St. Philip's church and parish to be the third in the city for riches, the number of beneficiate priests being 46, besides the rector.

In St. Philip's church there is a miraculous crucifix, called El santo Christo de las peridas; The holy Christ of child-bed women; which is much frequented by all people, but chiefly by the ladies, who go there to be churched, and leave the pu rification offering mentioned in the ceremonial law of Moses. And as there is this image which is an advocate of women delivered of child, there are also two images, who are advo cates of barren women, one of the Virgin in the convent of Recolet friars of St. Augustine, and another of St. Antonio del Paula: The first is called the barren women, the second, the intercessor of the barren ladies. This second image is in the convent of Victorian friars, and is kept in a gilt box in a chapel within the cloister, and the door is always locked up, and the key kept by the father corrector, i. e. the superior of the convent.

Another practice, of paying worship and adoration to the Virgin Mother, and her child Jesus in a manger, is observed on Christmas, and eight days after: But especially the nuns do signalize themselves on this festival, and that on which Jesus was lost and found again in the temple; for they hide the child in some secret place under the altar's table, and after evening songs they run up and down through the garden, cloisters and church, to see whether they can find the inno cent child, and the nun that finds him out, is excused, for that year, from all the painful offices of the convent; but she is to give, for three days together, a good dinner to all the ..uns and father confessor; and that year she may go to the grate at any time, without any leave or fear, for she doth not assist at the public service of prayers: in short, she has liberty of con. science that year, for finding the lost child, and she is often lost too at the end of the year, by following a licentious sort of a life.

These are, in some measure, voluntary devotions and adorations, but there are many others by precept of the church, and ordinances of several popes, who have granted prope. services to several images, with which priests and friars do serve and adore them, or else they commit a mortal sin, as well as if they neglected the divine and ecclesiastical service. and the due observance of the ten commandments of the law

of God. I will give a few instances of these adorations by precept, and with them I shall conclude.

There are in the church of Rome, proper services granted by the popes for the invention or finding out of the cross, and for the exaltation of it, and every priest, friar, and nun, is obliged in conscience, to say these services in honor of the cross; and after the great mass they adore the cross, and this is properly adoration, for they say in the hymn, Let us come and adore the holy cross, &c., and the people do the same after them. They carry the cross on the 3d of May, and on the great Litany-days, in a solemn procession, to some high place out of the town, and after the officiating priest has lifted up the cross towards the south, north, west, and east, blessing the four parts of the world, and singing the Litany, the procession comes back to the church. These festivals are celebrated with more devotion and veneration, as to the outward appearance, than pomp and magnificence, except in the churches dedicated to the holy cross, where this being the titular festival, is constantly performed with all manner of cere monies, as the days of the first class.

There are proper services granted to the Virgin Mary, under the following names: The Virgin of the rose of St. Dominick, of the girdle of St. Augustine, or the rope of St. Francis, and of the scapulary of Mount carmel. All these distinguishing signs of the Virgin Mary, are celebrated by the church and fraternities of devout people, and adored by all christians, being all images and relics to be worshiped by the command of the pope. Now, by what has been said, where can we find expressions fit to explain the wickedness of the Romish priests, the ignorance of the people, committed to their charge, and the idolatrous, nonsensical, ridiculous ceremonies with which they serve, not God, but saints, giving them more tribute of adoration than to the Almighty? I must own, that the poor people who are easily persuaded of every thing, are not so much to be blamed, but the covetous, barbarous clergy; for these (though many of them are very blind) are not to be supposed ignorant of what sins they do commit, and advise the people to commit: so, acting against the dictates of their own consciences, they, I believe, must answer for their illguided flock, before the tribunal of the living God.

THE

INQUISITION OF GOA

[FROM DR. BUCHANAN'S RESEARCHES IN ASIA.

"Goa, Convent of the Augustinians, Jan. 23, 1808. "On my arrival at Goa, I was received into the house of Captain Schuyler, the British Resident. The British force here is commanded by Col. Adams, of his Majesty's 78th rcgiment, with whom I was formerly well acquainted in Bengal.* Next day I was introduced by these gentlemen to the Viceroy of Goa, the Count de Cabral. I intimated to his excellency my wish to sail up the river to Old Goa,† (where the Inquisition is,) to which he politely acceded. Major Pareira, of the Portuguese establishment, who was present, and to whom I had letters of introduction from Bengal, offered to accompany me to the city, and to introduce me to the archbishop of Goa, the Primate of the Orient.

"I had communicated to Col. Adams, and to the British Resident, my purpose of inquiring into the state of the Inquisition. These gentlemen informed me, that I should not be able to accomplish my design without difficulty; since every thing relating to the Inquisition was conducted in a very secret manner, the most respectable of the lay Portuguese themselves being ignorant of its proceedings; and that, if the priests were to dis cover my object, their excessive jealousy and alarm would prevent their communicating with me, or satisfying my inqui ries on any subject.

The forts in the harbor of Goa were then occupied by British troops, (two King's regiments, and two regiments of native infantry,) to prevent its falling into the hands of the French.

There is Old and New Goa. The ld city is about eight miles up the river. The Viceroy and the chief Portuguese inhabitants reside at New Goa, which is at the mouth of the river, within the forts of the harbor. The old city, where the Inquisition and the Churches are, is now almost entirely deseited by the secular Portuguese, and is inhabited by the priests alone. unhealthiness of the place, and the ascendency of the pests, are the causes ssigned for abandoning the ancient city.

The