THE life which came to a close in the prison-palace of the Vatican on the 7th of last February is unquestionably one of the most eventful that has ever graced the pages of history. The reign of Pius IX is destined to mark an epoch in the political as well as in the religious history of the world. No doubt, since the time of St. Peter himself, no Roman Pontiff has so long guarded the interests of Christ's faithful, and his reign has exceeded by wellnigh seven years the period of the first supreme pontificate that elapsed from the time when the prince of the Apostles made Rome, instead of Antioch, the capital of Christendom. He is the first of nearly two hundred and sixty Popes who has seen the legendary years of St. Peter, the first to infringe upon what had come to be considered an almost inviolable rule, formulated in these words, addressed to every successive Pontiff: "Thou shalt not see the days of Peter." Petri annos non videbis. Into this comparatively long reign, but short period of time, events have been crowded more than sufficient

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to fill up an entire century, and his whole life covers one of the most eventful epochs in all history. For thirty-two years has he stood the most conspicuous among the great ones of this earth, the centre of attraction and affection for the faithful, of envy and hatred for the enemies of the Church, even when the bustle and hurry of foreign wars, and the excitement and turmoil of revolution might come to effect in the various states the ruin and desolation which he has done so much to prevent and remedy. And the revolution itself, the characteristic heresy of the nineteenth century, the most widespread and most powerful that has ever troubled the peace of society, or threatened to corrupt and ruin the Church, has cowered before his gaze and trembled at his speech. With lying on its lips and malice in its heart, it hailed his accession to the Papacy with mock applause, as its prototype, the Jewish people, had given to his divine Master the honors of a grand triumphal entry into their city on the eve of his execution as a malefactor, charged with the worst

of crimes by the very people who had with such apparent jubilation proclaimed him to be their king. But as the Saviour of mankind rose triumphant over death, so his late representative on earth gained in his death the greatest victory of his whole life; for no sooner does he breathe his last than his very bitterest enemies come forth, Balaam-like, to proclaim aloud to all the world, in words of unqualified praise, the virtues of him whom they have been sent to curse. His persecutors have become his panegyrists. They who have always hated him with the bitterest hate which one man can entertain for another, are forced to keep their rancor shut up within their own breasts, and for the moment acquiesce with the universal feeling of respect and admiration. What have they been doing who were but yesterday, as it were, predicting that Pius IX would be the last of the Popes? They are yet to be heard from, and it is perhaps their humiliation and utter confusion that prevents them from giving an account of themselves and explaining why they have allowed a successor to Pius IX to be chosen without the slightest opposition on their part. Let us see what is this powerful organization which has been plotting so long for the destruction of the Papacy, and yet when the supreme moment came, allowed the Church to gain another brilliant triumph by letting the world be reminded once more that though Pius may die, Peter will rise again in the person of his successor. It will also be seen what party, the world or the Church, has gained the most signal and brilliant triumphs in this the last and fiercest of their struggles.

When Cardinal Mastai Ferretti accepted the dignity of the Papacy he assumed all the responsibilities of a struggle which had lasted for more than eighteen centuries. It might be abandoned for a time, but it was sure to be renewed, generally with

increased violence, the world being always the aggressor. The Church on earth has never for a single moment ceased to be the Church militant, not only in the struggle of its individual members against the arch enemy of God and man, but also in the defence which it has to maintain against powerful and unscrupulous aggressors, who sometimes pretend to be devoted children of the Church, whose most sacred rights they trample upon. But God never subjects his children to trials without giving them the means of overcoming them. He never allows an enemy to arise without providing more powerful means of defence. A Henry IV is met and overcome by a St. Gregory VII, and though the holy Pontiff may die in exile, yet he has given the deathblow to German tyranny. The enemy may change in name, but not in character or design. Call it what you will, Reformation, Philosophism, Revolution, or Scientism, the same godly principle ever animates it. But it is always confronted with the same principles of truth, no matter how it may change its tactics. Pius IX is to the nineteenth century only what St. Gregory VII was to the eleventh. Neither began the work which he completed. Both were trusted friends and powerful auxiliaries of the Popes who immediately preceded them, but Hildebrand enjoyed this honor and bore this responsibility in a much more eminent degree than Mastai Ferretti. With their assumption of the triple crown comes a change in these relations. The work which the latter has undertaken is so much the more important than that of the former as a subtle heresy is worse than a relaxation of discipline. Though both were victorious in their struggle for spiritual supremacy, yet one died in exile and the other a prisoner in his own palace.

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It used to be said that Jansenism was the most subtle heresy that ever

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led Christians astray from the paths of truth. It was swept away by the storms of the Revolution, leaving the distinction of pre-eminence in the accomplishment of evil to the principles which have given its worst character to that social convulsion, and which collectively are still known as The Revolution, keeping society in constant dread of destruction, and threatening to hurl it at any moment into the abyss of anarchy. The Declaration of the Rights of Man" was only the legitimate offspring of the doctrine propagated by the philosophers of the Encyclopædia, but it was the formal declaration of a terrible war on all that man holds most sacred. The Pope of that day undertook the defence of truth, as was his duty, but Pius VI was besieged in his own city, taken prisoner, and carried into exile, where he died a martyr. Pius VII continued the good work, but he, too, was subjected to the ordeal of exile and imprisonment. He lived, however, to see his enemies humiliated, and to enjoy the honors of a triumphant ovation on his return to the Eternal City. The reigns of Leo XII and Pius VIII were too short for those holy men to take much part in the great work of regeneration which was to be accomplished, or to have time to witness the fresh impetus that was about to be given to the fury of the Revolution. But the storm was already brooding which burst over the head of Gregory XVI, almost before he had yet time to begin the work of his pontificate.

To the occupation of Central Italy by the French Imperialists we must trace the origin of these troubles. The soldiery of Napoleon remained there just long enough to corrupt the middle classes and instil into their minds the pernicious principles of the Revolution. Along with the baneful taste for organizing secret societies, these adventurers did not forget to leave behind them the idea

of a revolted Italy; and it was this idea that gave them a new significance by turning them into political clubs. Thus originated the Carbonari, who are identified with the Umbrian outbreak of 1831, which. was easily quelled. It would have augured better for the future of Italy if the five great powers had left the Pope and his subjects to settle their own difficulties, instead of laying before him the permanent threat of the famous Memorandum, a docu- . ment which owed its existence to a Protestant mind, and was drawn up by Protestant hands. This, however, such as it was, made it impossible for the good Pope to make any concessions to his revolted and discontented subjects, and thus the disgraceful attitude of France, Austria,. Russia, England, and Prussia kept the nation in suspense, and encouraged, if not fomented, rebellion for the space of fifteen years. Gregory XVI died on the 1st of June, 1846, and Cardinal Mastai Ferretti was chosen to succeed him on the 16th of the same month.

Never was the accession of any monarch hailed with more general rejoicing than was that of Pius IX by his temporal subjects. Nor did he deceive the hopes and expectations of his people. He could honorably make all the concessions and effect all the reforms that were conducive and necessary to the people towards whom his sole desire was to act as a true father, who in every instance consults the well-being of his children. What the great powers had made impossible for his predecessor, he could do without leaving it in the power of any one to say that he was driven to it by the force of circumstances, and his honesty of purpose soon unveiled the nefarious designs of these same great powers. For no sooner had he of his own free will granted what they had previously demanded in vain, than they at once became alarmed lest his popularity should become too great and last