l'Eglise The Church believes that she was after her death receiv'd into Heaven both in Body and Soul but he brings no Testimony for it He acknowledges that the little Treatise concerning the Assumption of the Virgin Mary among the Works of St. Jerom is none of that Father's Writings and that the Homilies on this Festival among the Works of St. Augustin are none of his He destroys too the pretended Testimony of Denis the Areopagite and so leaves the Story rather confuted than confirm'd Dupin Nouvelle Bibliotheque speaks of that Treatise among the Works of St. Jerome what is worth observing here The 10th Letter says he on the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is written by some Latin Author who liv'd when the East was infected with the Errour of the Eutychians who would acknowledge but one Nature in Jesus Christ as he observes himself and this was what came to pass long after the death of St. Jerom. He that wrote it says he set it out under the name of St. Jerome that what he says of the Blessed Virgin might be the more valued And the better to colour the Cheat he pretends to direct it to Paula and Eustochium persons to whom St. Jerome did truly write Altho ' he enlarges upon the Commendations and Prerogatives of the Virgin yet he says it was not certain whether she was risen from the Dead and her Body carried up into Heaven or not This Treatise says he further tho' supposititious was inserted into the Office of the Church by Paulus Diaconus and Alcuinus in Charlemaign's time And since that it has made up part of the Lessons for the Feast of the Assumption in the Old Breviaries of France and Italy Thus speaks Dupin of this matter But notwithstanding the uncertainty of this Fact the Church of Rome celebrates a Day to commemorate this to her Honour which is the 15th of August and a Plenary Indulgence is granted to encourage the Devotions of this Solemnity in this Church the form of the Publication of which in the Year 1696 was as follows Plenary Indulgence Upon the Feast-day of the glorious Assumption of the H. Mother of God Mary in the Cathedral Church of this City of Antwerp granted to all Faithful Christians by Innocent the 11 th Upon such a day the 15th of August being the Feast-day of the Glorious Assumption of the H. Maid and Mother of God Mary there is to be obtain'd Plenary Indulgence not only for those who are entred or shall enter themselves in the Brotherhood of the same Mother of God foremention'd but also for all other Believers in Christ who having true Repentance being confess'd and nourish'd by the Holy Communion shall visit the Cathedral Church and the Holy Maid in her Chappel there and there piously pray for the Union of Christian Princes the Extirpation of Heresies and the Advancement of our Mother the Holy Church Which Indulgence shall begin from the first Vespers and continue to the Sun-setting of the Feast-day it self Upon the Feast-day it self at Eight a Clock in the Morning shall a Sermon be preach'd by the Reverend Chanoine and Pleban of the same Church At half an hour after 10 shall the Solemn Mass be said in the aforesaid Chappel by Afternoon at two a Clock shall be the solemn Vespers at 4 a Clock the Sermon by of the Order of the Reverend Fathers the Brothers of our Lady After the Lauds of the most Reverend and H. Sacrament shall follow the solemn Laud to the Honour of the Holy Virgin and Mother of God Mary with extraordinary Musick Through the whole Octave and the followin Week shall the Service be perform'd as follows At 7 a Clock in the Morning shall be the solemn Mass At 8 upon working-days the Sermon shall be preach ' by c. Every Evening the solemn Laud shall begin at half an hour after 5 so that upon the Thursdays in the two Weeks the Laud of the Venerable shall be perform'd at 5 Clock and during the second Week the Church shall be kept open till Ten a Clock for the convenience of the devout Souls who shall walk the accustomed course to the Honour of the Holy Mother of God Recommending it to all devout persons that they would be found in this service Upon Sunday being the 19th day at 8 a Clock shall preach Upon Sunday the 26th shall the solemn Mass be said at 7 a Clock by the Illustrious and most Reverend the Bishop of Antwerp At 8 a Clock shall again preach the Reverend Chanoine and Pleban of the same Church and in the Evening after the Laud shall the Benediction be given by the same Reverend Person And the more to excite the Devotion of the Christian Catholicks his Reverence John Ferdinand Bishop of Antwerp hath granted to all Faithful Christians who shall upon the Feast of the Glorious Assumption and every day of the whole Octave with devotion of Heart hear the solemn Mass or to the Honour of the Virgin shall walk the way of the general Procession praying to Almighty God for the Union of Christian Princes the Extirpation of Heresies and the Advancement of our Mother the H. Church 40 days of Indulgence and that repeated for so many times as they shall have done what is aforesaid Upon Monday the 27th shall be perform'd in the same Chappel at 8 a Clock in the Morning a solemn Mass of Thanksgiving for all the Benefactors of the aforesaid Chappel of the H. Mother of God Note If any person whether Man or Woman shall have the Devotion to enter themselves in the Ancient and Renown'd Brotherhood of the Holy Maid the Masters of the said Chappel shall be at all times sitting ready to receive them in their usual place Upon which day of their entrance they obtain a Plenary Indulgence and Acquittance from all their Sins if having true Repentance and being confess'd they shall receive the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar Moreover Plenary Indulgences are there to be obtain'd also upon particular Feast Days of the Holy Mother granted by his Holiness Pope Innocent the 11th as also on all Saturdays to every Priest that says the Mass for the Souls departed is the priviledge granted for relieving and delivering out of Purgatory one-Soul of those who were entred in the aforesaid Brotherhood All to the greater Glory of God and his most Holy Mother Mary Thus is it confess'd that all this elaborate Devotion is design'd as well to the Honour of the Virgin Mary as of God And is all this no more than with the Spirit of Charity to desire her Prayers As much as this comes to is repeated 8 or 10 times a Year upon the several Festivals they assign to her Is all this necessary to engage her Assistance Are not here Divine Honours in the most solemn manner paid to her when all this is done for her Honour as well as for God's and even that which done as is pretended for God's Honour But let them know that
Man the blessed Alanus de Rupe a Dominican had a Revelation of them from the Virgin Mary her self who to confirm the truth of these things in his Book Entituled The Reviv'd Work says All these things hath the most B. Virgin Mary the Mother of God related to a certain Religious Person meaning himself good Man but out of modesty concealing his Name assuring him that they were most evidently and sensibly true The which Religious Person she chose to be her Bridegroom giving him a Wedding Ring some say a Rosary or string of Beads but which soever it was she had very curiously wove it up of her own Hair This methinks were a precious Relick if in being but I do not find that they any where pretend to have it among them which yet they might as justly pretend to as to many other things of that sort Some Directions about Reading the Rosary The People are exhorted to take care that they do this not only with the Mouth but also with the Heart and with serious attention to which purpose they are directed to begin their Tasks of Devotion with this Preface to the Virgin Fill my Mouth with the Grace of your sweetness O Mary and enlighten my Understanding Oh thou who art full of Grace Stir up my Tongue and Lips with chearfulness of Heart to sing your Praises Vouchsafe that I your humble Servant may with Pleasure say Ave c. A pretty good beginning and we shall find the rest agreeable They tell the People that 't is good and profitable to read the Rosary with Meditations on the 15 Mysteries by which they mean the principal parts of the History of our Saviour to which they have added some Fictions concerning the Virgin to make up the Number When they do thus then to every ten Ave Mary's and a Pater Noster there comes a Meditation and this is attended with an Address either to the Virgin Mary alone or to Jesus Christ and the B. Virgin ane she is for the most part the Principal Person applied to some of these for a Specimen I shall here produce Upon the Resurrection of Christ the Prayer begins to Jesus and then is soon turn'd to the Virgin in these words Also I beg of you O the Glory of Jerusalem the Joy of Israel Mother and Matd Mary Awaken me from the Grave of Ill Customs in the which I have lain buried and obtain for me the Spirit of Divine Grace c. Upon the Assumption of the Virgin into Heaven they have this Prayer to be join'd with the Rosary I beseech you Oh most H. Virgin Mary who in Soul and Body are gloriously advanced into Heaven Qbottomless pit of all Grace my most sweet and glorious Lady I pray you through the unspeakable Comfort which you have felt in the hour of your Death that you will not for sake me at the end of my Life but stand by my Soul as a sure Defender as a sweet Refuge and a gracious Mother that I being encompass'd with your overflowing Merits may fear no Snares or Temptations of the Enemy but that I may be found worthy to be introduced with Joy and presented in the presence of your Blessed Son with whom you Reign for ever and ever Upon the Crowning of Mary in the Heavens which they commonly set the adorable Trinity a doing in their impious Pictures and Images they have this Prayer I beseech you Oh most excellent Queen of Heaven who by your singular Beauty do adorn and make glad the whole City of God! I intreat you by the Love of your Bridegroom that you will make us poor Exiles in this vale of Tears Partakers of the abundant Bliss which you enjoy in your Native Country above Arise Oh Advocatress Turn towards us your merciful Eyes and after that this our banishment is over shew â—s the blessed Fruit of your Body Jesus Give Ear to us Oh Gratious Hear us Oh kind Give us what we ask Oh sweet Virgin Mary Upon the Visitation of Elizabeth by the Virgin this Prayer following is directed to be used in the reciting of the Rosary Oh Glorious and always Blessed Maid Mary I present you these Salutations meant of the Ave Mary's to the Honour and Remembrance of that great Joy which fill'd your Virgin Heart when after your Conceiving in your Virgin Body you went into the Hill-Country of Judea and did there visit and salute your Cousin Elizabeth By this your Joy and Rejoycing I beseech you to account me worthy that you come to my Soul and to visit that with your gracious Presence And grant me the favour that I may faithfully serve you all the days of my Life The form of Blessing the Beads of a Rosary This string of Beads are consecrated before they are to be used as a Rosary and for that purpose they make use of this following Prayer Almighty and most merciful God who through the immense Love wherewith thou hast loved us wast willing that thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ should descend from Heaven upon the Earth and according to the Angels Message should take flesh in the most Holy Womb of the most Blessed Virgin Mary our Lady and should undergo the Cross and Death and on the Third Day gloriously rise again from the Dead that thou mightest rescue us from the Power of the Devil We beseech thy immense Clemency to bless ✚ and san ✚ ctifie here two Crosses are made over the Beads these signs of the Rosary dedicated by thy faithful Church to the Honour and Praise of the same Parent of thy Son and infuse into them such a Vertue of the Holy Spirit that whoever carries any of these about him and reverently retains them in his House and does according to the Rules of the Brotherhood devoutly pray to thee upon them contemplating at the same time the Divine Mysteries he may abound in saving and persevering Devotion and be a Partaker of all the Graces Privileges and Indulgences which have been granted to the said Society by the Holy Apostolick See and may be deliver'd from every Enemy visible and invisible always and every where in this Life and in the Life to come and may deserve to be presented to thee full of good Works by the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mother of God her self by the same our Lord Jesus Christ c. This Prayer being said the Beads are to be sprinkled with Holy Water The Brotherhood of the Holy Rosary The Honour of Instituting this is also given The Brotherhood of the H. Rosary to Dominick who is said to have done it at the Revelation and upon the Charge of the most H. Virgin Mary She willing hereby to multiply her Graces and Favours to the World Commanded her beloved Bridegroom St. Dominick to found this Brotherhood which she order'd should be call'd The Brotherhood of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the most Holy Virgin Mary From hence it is the peculiar Privilege of the Dominicans to have Authority
done in Honour of this Saint and to obtain his Intercession and the People are encourag'd by the Pope himself to attend these Devotions by a Plenary Indulgence Is this to be parallel'd then with our desiring our Friends on Earth to pray for us Has the Saint so little Charity and is he so backward to intercede that without all this ado he will not open his Mouth for them This is much that is to be done on this Occasion and yet is little to what is done to the Virgin Mary who has a great many Festivals in a Year and they attended with whole Octaves on which particular and extraordinary Devotions are paid to her The true meaning of all is plainly this Mankind has been always taught and have believ'd the necessity of a Mediator and that a Divine Person must be our Mediator and Divine Honours are due and may be paid to whomsoever is so since this appears in the whole Theology of the Heathens and is so agreeable to the Truths which are taught us in the Gospel we have reason to believe they deriv'd this Knowledge from the Fathers of the World by Tradition to whom it had been reveal'd by God himself But the Heathens having only Tradition to guide them corrupted this Doctrine by bringing in a Multitude of Mediators whereas the Gospel according to the truth of the matter teaches us that there is but one Mediator between God and Man and that is Christ Jesus This Corruption is reviv'd in the Church of Rome who has many Mediators and adores them all and pays them Divine Honours as the Heathens did More of this we shall see in the following Relation Over the high Altar in this Church of St. James in the Quire is a very costly large and beautiful piece of Architecture all of Marble The Pillars on the sides are some of them white Marble some black the white wreath'd theblack smooth and strait and they are intermix'd with curious Art the whole is certainly a Work very admirable Instead of a Picture for an Altar-piece there is an Image of St. James bigger than the common Size of Men which is of white Marble He is represented as looking upwards and pointing downwards to the People below Over his Head in the Arch of the Marble-work about him and towards which he directs his Face there is carv'd the impious and idolatrous Representation of the holy Trinity which is very common in the Churches of the Roman Communion There is Image of the Holy Trinity the Figure of an Old Man sitting in the Clouds with a Triple Crown on his Head and of a Young Man by him holding a Cross with one Hand and between them both is a Pidgeon hovering with his Wings spread and Rays about him I do not doubt but it is lawful to represent the humane Body of Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour in any of the Circumstances of his Life or Death on Earth either by Pictures or by Images But certainly as it is the Glory of the Divine Nature to be invisible in it self so it ought not to be represented by any visible thing God himself adds an express Prohibition of making any visible Representation of himself as an Explication of the second Commandment And the Apostle Paul judges it an impious profanation to do so and calls it a Changing the Glory of the invisible God into the meanness of that thing which the Image made to represent him does more truly represent He says therefore of the Heathens Rom. 1. that while they made the Images of of Men or Birds c. to represent the Deity by they chang'd the Glory of God into an Image made like to corruptible Man and to Birds c. What does the practice of the Church of Rome in this case differ from theirs 'T is true the Gospel tells us when Jesus was baptized and came out of the Water the Spirit of God did with a visible Representation descend upon him whereby the Man Jesus became the Christ of God A visible Glory descended like the hovering of a Dove and lighted upon him to be a sensible Token and Demonstration to the Spectators that he was anointed by the Holy Ghost and was to be reckon'd by them the true Messiah or Christ But this does not at all allow or conclude for the representing the holy infinite Spirit himself by a Pidgeon The Shechinah or Pillar of a Glory in the Wilderness was a Token of God's special presence among the people of Israel there but was not a fit Representation of the infinitely glorious God himself nor was it design'd to be so but only for a sensible Token and Assurance of a peculiar divine presence The Church of Rome when press'd with things of this Nature endeavours to evade the Argument by blaming the Liberty of Carvers and Painters but there is no room at all to do it in this case For this is a thing done by publick Allowance and encourag'd by the Authority of the Church as we shall be convinc'd in the Sequel of this Relation At present I shall add to this purpose what is further to be observ'd in this same Church In the passage round the Quire on the outside where are several very neat Chapels to particular Saints enclos'd with partitions of Marble Pillars or Rails there is set up against the Wall in a Frame a printed Representation of the holy Trinity contriv'd after the same manner with the former and under it there is printed in Dutch this Grant Whosoever shall say here Five Pater Nosters and Five Ave-Marys shall enjoy Forty Days Indulgence this granted by the Bishop of Antwerp The Quire is part of it compass'd with beautiful Marble-pillars there is a great deal of good Painting and abundance of Marble about the whole Church In this Church by the entrance of the North Door on the Left-hand is a large Chappel which they call The Chappel of the Dead The Altar-piece represents our Saviour as dead and taking down from the Cross and lying in the Lap of the Virgin Mary who sits in a very sorrowful posture contemplating upon the matter On the out-side of the partition upon a pillar there hangs in a Frame written in Dutch a new Grant in Favour of this Chapel It signifies That all those of the Brotherhood of the Dead who shall come to hear Mass in this Chapel and any Priest that shall say Mass here on all Mondays of the Year and on every All-Souls Day or any of the Days of the Octave the privilege of Redeeming one Soul out of Purgatory And this is said to be granted by Innocent XII the present Pope out of the Treasury of the Church and is to continue in force for Seven Years They may perhaps by that time get Money enough to renew and continue the Lease The Fraternity or Brotherhood of the Dead are a company of people that write their Names in a Book whereby they are admitted into the Society this is commonly
Mass for that day in particular which the Priests may celebrate and which any one may cause to be said in a case of Necessity for a good Pay Every Year in the Month of October he celebrated the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels with an extraordinary Devotion He attended the Sacraments with the greatest Preparation he redoubled his Alms his Austerities his Fasts his Prayers He renew'd thro' the whole Octave the Protestations of St. Char. Borromaeus in the Chappel of the Angel which he visited every day Lastly Every day before he lay down to rest he implor'd the Assistance of his Holy Protector by the Litanies of the Angels which he recited upon his Knees This is that 't is said which the Associates ought to do every Evening or during the time of Mass And 't is impossible for any Man to have an ill Death when he has so much wish'd and so much begg'd the Grace to die well by these Devotions See here ye Dear Associates say they what Practices are to be perform'd in Honour of the Angels And from what has been said these six important Verities as they are call'd are recommended to be the subject of serious Meditation 1. God is willing to save us by the Ministry of our Angel-Guardian 2. In the ordinary Course of his Providence he will no otherwise save us 3. This Guide will infallibly procure our Salvation if we earnestly demand it 4. This great Affair of our Salvation depends upon our Death But without doubt it is rather true to say it depends upon the manner of spending our Life 5. There is no one but our Angel who will as of Duty be concern'd to assist us at our Death and to protect us in this grievous Combat 6. The more Prayers there are for and the more Persons that demand the same Grace the more easily shall they obtain it This is an effect of the Communion of Saints Therefore the more Associates there are in this Brotherhood the more certainly may they hope to obtain the Grace to die well These now are wonderful Inducements to wheedle Men into this Association of the Guardian Angels in order to secure a happy Death and this last is a pretty motive to perswade those who are in it to be decoys to others to bring them into the same Net Now we shall take a more particular account of this Society What is intended in it and what they are directed and bind themselves to do who enter themselves into it This Association they say is nothing else but a Holy and Secret Union made between Believers who being perswaded of the great Importance of dying well and of the Succours which we ought to expect from the good Angels in that Moment do unite their Prayers and their Vows which they address to these amiable Protectors for this end So that this Association is plainly a Combination of People who bind themselves to the voluntary Humility and Worshipping of Angels which the Holy Scripture forbids Yet this is said to be an Association which Heaven has inspir'd Men with the design of and does Authorize with a multitude of Favours which the Believers who are engag'd in it regard as a mark of their Predestination to Eternal Glory and which the Prelates of the Church the Arch-Bishops and the Bishops who endeavour to conduct their Flocks to Heaven do effectually recommend opening to the Associates the Treasures of Indulgencies of which they are the Dispensers The Rules of Association are these 1. Those who enter this Society must confess and receive the Communion at least once a Year either on the day of their Festival that is the first of March or the first of October or upon some other day that may prove more convenient The design and end of this Communion ought to be the same with that of the Association that is to obtain for themselves and all the rest of the Associates the Protection of the Angels at the Point of Death and particularly the Grace to die well Communicate then to the Honour of the Angels say they Here is one of the highest Acts of Divine Worship order'd to be perform'd to the Honour of Creatures Receiving the Communion as they sometimes speak of it is said to be an Offering to God the Victim of his Immaculate Son and this they do to the Honour of the Angels What can deserve the Name of the most impious and detestable Idolatry if this does not Is this no more than to pray the Angels to pray for us 2. They must promise to visit the Chappel which is dedicated to the Guardian Angel at least once a year and if this can conveniently be it should be done on the day of the Feast of the Guardian Aâ—gels to gain the Indulgence 3. They of the Society must promise to their good Angel to recite every day the Office or Litany of the Angels or the Testament of St. Charles Borromeus which I shall produce anon Or if they cannot read they must promise to recite three times the Pater Noster and three times the Ave Mary to the Honour of the three Coelestial Hierarchies that they may obtain for all the Associates in whatever part of the World they be the Grace to die well The Form of the Association which is an Engagement to the Service of the Angels as they speak is as follows My most dear and kind Angel Guardian of my Body and my Soul whom God has commission'd to watch over and keep me at all times but particularly at the hour of my Death Displeased with my self for my past Ingratitudes I come now to make to you an inviolable Protestation of my Service I promise you at the foot of the Holy Altar that as after Jesus and Mary you are the foundation of the hope which I have to die well so for the future you shall be the object of my Vows of my Respects and of my Loves I ask of you one Favour and 't is that which I know you do passionately desire to confer upon me Assist me at the Hour of my Death and besides me all those who shall associate themselves with this Design It is to obtain this of you that I purpose to communicate at least once a year to your Honour to visit your Chappel and to make some Prayers to you every day O hear me since you have so much good will to me Fortifie me in this Combat since my Salvation does thereon depend Conduct me to Heaven since 't is for this that you are my Guide Amen The Protestation or Testament of St. Charles Borromeus mentioned before I shall now insert just as it is though so long because I purpose to represent all these matters as I have them from the Romanists themselves It runs thus In the Name of the most Holy Trinity I N. N. an unhappy and miserable Sinner do protest in thy Presence O Holy Angel of God That I am absolutely resolv'd to die in the Catholick Apostolick
Roman Church in the which are dead all the Saints that have ever been to this time and out of which there is no Salvation Inspire me with these Sentiments at the Pâ—â—nt of my Death and do the same for all my Associates I protest again O my Dear Angel That under your Guard and Protection I would depart this Life with a mighty confidence in your Succours and with a plain and entire hope in the Mercy of my God Combat in that moment the Enemies of my Salvation Receive my Soul at its going out of the Body Render Jesus favourable to me after Death I protest likewise my Blessed Angel That I demand moreover from the bottom of my Heart to partake of the Merits of the Blood of my Saviour I detest all the Sins I have committed by Works Thoughts or Words I pardon all mine Enemies I would die with the Cross fastned to my Heart to signifie that I found my Hopes upon the Merits of him who has stain'd it with his Blood I protest also O most faithful Friend who will not abandon me in this my last Passage that through the desire which I have to go to Heaven I am ready to suffer all that which the Justice of my God shall think fit to inflict See I am ready to quit my Parents my Friends and my Body to be eaten with Worms and one day to rise again See I am ready to suffer the greatest Evil the most grievous Maladies even the Pains of Purgatory that I may satisfie for the Enormities of my Sins I protest lastly O my most Dear and most vigilant Guide That I constitute you the Executor of the last Will of my Soul Say to Jesus at that Moment that which perhaps I shall not be able to say That I believe all that which the Church believes That I detest all my Sins because they displease him That I cast my self upon his Love That I hope in his Mercy That I die willingly because he is so pleas'd That I recommend my poor Soul and the Souls of all my fellow Associates into his Hands That I love him more than all Creatures And that I would love him to all Eternity Amen See here some Lines of the Character of a Modern Roman Saint One might search the Scripture long enough before one could find several of these But while Rome makes such Saints I doubt they are canonized too soon Yet at a venture this Man is become a Saint in much esteem in the Church of Rome and is honour'd with Altars Chappels Festivals Litanies Alms Communions and in a word with every thing that can be done by Man to the Honour of Almighty God These Protestarâ—ons the People are exhorted to renew and to make for themselves when ever they Communicate and are encourag'd thereupon to hope they shall die the Death of the Righteous An Indulgence of Forty days is granted to every one that enters himself in this Brotherhood on the day of entering the same An Indulgence of Forty days is granted to every one that shall recite these Protestations as often as he does recite them The same mighty Favour is granted to those that shall recite the Office of the Holy Angels which is too long to be inserted here or the Chaplet which has been mention'd before or the Litany of the Holy Angels for every day whereon they say it In time perhaps the Society may grow richer in this sort of Wealth It is time for us now to take leave of them The Great Church of the City was formerly St. Gudule dedicated to St. Michael but it seems the property of it is alter'd and the Angel has been forc'd for some years to give the Honour and the Place to the Saint for it is now called the Church of St. Gudule When Count Lambert and the Bishop of Tournay says Story translated the Body of St. Gudule from another Church in this City to this of St. Michael they enlarged this Church considerably at a great Charge and endowed it with a good Revenue and consecrated it anew dedicating it to this Saint who was as they say a Princess descended of the Family of Charlemaigne In this Church is a Chappel to the holy Sacrament which at the time we went in had the greatest number of People The Altar was very richly adorn'd There was standing over it a tall Portal which seem'd to be Silver under which the Sacrament is wont to be set when 't is produc'd only to be seen and ador'd but it was not then there Besides this several other things about the Altar seem'd to be Silver Six large Silver Lamps hung up before the Altar and two very stately Chrystal Candlesticks with many Silver Sockets round them for Candles these last were a late Present made by the Electour of Bavaria to this Chappel Here is kept in this Church in a little Golden Chest and is shown only upon a particular Holiday once a Year the Miraculous Sacrament Miraculous Sacrament as they call it which is such a Wafer as the Papists use in celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to which the following Story belongs In the Year 1369. as some of the Historians of this Countrey put it one Jonathan a Jew with an ill Design bought of a Certain Curate of St. Catharine's Church a Box with three consecrated Wafers in it He being afterwards kill'd by some Persons his Enemies his Wife gave the Box to their Son named Abraham with the Hosties in it He upon a Good-friday took an Hostie out of the Box and in contempt of our Saviour went about to stab and cut it with his Knife when at every Wound he made in it there issued Blood The Woman his Mother admiring the Miracle immediately became a Christian And having discover'd the matter to the Messires Peter and John Valvius the former Curate of St. Gudule the latter of St. Nicholas the Wickedness of the Jew was publish'd so that Wencesleus then Duke of Brabant and Johanna his Wife having diligently examin'd the matter caused Abraham and other Jews that had joyn'd with him in the Impiety to be burnt alive before the Church of St. Catharine The Examinations about this matter and the whole Process are said to be kept in the Chamber of Accounts of Brabant The Duke and Dutchess in a solemn Procession attended this wounded Hostie to the Church of St. Gudule and reposited it there and a Holiday was appointed to commemorate the Miracle and a solemn Procession in which it should be carried about and be shown to the People This Day is kept in â—â—ly and we have at this present being the 24th day the fresh News at the Hague that a mighty Confluence of People came to Brussels to be present at this Solemnity insomuch that the City had scarce room enough to hold them It is said the Archbishop of Mechlin perform'd the Service attended by four Abbots that he carried the miraculous Hostie in the Procession and that
the Lord Ernest who was Brother to the Elector and Duke of Bavaria and Arch-Bishop of Cologne The present Prince and Bishop of Leige Joseph Clement is also Arch-Bishop of Cologne and Brother to the present Elector of Bavaria the Governour of the Spainsh Netherlands The common Revenue of the Bishop and Prince of Leige is said to be more than 30.000 Ducats per An. Besides which he that gains the Love of his People is assisted in extraordinary exigences with considerable Subsidies And he has in his Gift many Prebends and other Ecclesiastical Benefices He is chosen by the Members of the College of St. Lambert approv'd by the whole Body of the People and as all other Bishops of the Roman Church in a slavish subjection must be confirm'd by the Bishop of Rome The Episcopal See being transfer'd as has been said from Tongeren to Maestricht by St. Servatius it continued there under a long Succession of Bishops to the time of Lambertus In his time one Hubert of Aquitaine a Son they say of a Lord of that Country left his Country and came to visit Brabant led by the same of the prosperous Condition of Christian Religion in these parts He went to Maestricht and there contracted an intimate Friendship with the good Bishop Lambert After some time he had a desire to see Rome also which he went to fulfill While he was there news came to Rome that the People of Maestricht had Murder'd Bishop Lambert upon which the Pope of that time who was Sergius created Hubert Bishop of Maestricht and sent him thither It so happen'd that he was receiv'd by the Citizens with great appearances of kindness and Civility But he was so distated with the Murther of his good Friend their Bishop Lambert that he apply'd his thoughts from the very first to the removing of the Episcopal Seat to some other place And after some time the necessary preparations being made by Laws and the Approbation of the Pope being obtain'd he did in the Year 713 remove the Episcopal Chair to the City of Leige carrying with him thither the Body of his Friend St. Lambert He built the Noble Church which bears the name of S. Lambert and founded the College of Cannons belonging to it and liv'd the rest of his Life here in great Reputation for Piety and Vertue and since his Death he is thought worthy of that Veneration which the Church of Rome pays to some of the departed Saints and to those whom they account such The Pallace of the Bishop is a stately and Magnificent Pallace Structure It goes round 3 Courts the innermost of which is a Garden but I believe in no good Condition at present We would have seen the inside of the Pallace but they said the Rooms were unfurnish'd and we perceiv'd they had no mind to let us see what condition it was within from whence we supposed there was now nothing fine or worth showing to Strangers The usual Residence of this Prince he being Arch Bishop of Cologne is at Bonne upon the Rhine which may occasion this Pallace to be neglected The outermost Court of the Pallace is commonly pass'd through It is an Area bigger than that of the Royal Exchange in London and surrounded like that with a Piazza which is supported on the outside with a great number of Pillars Under the Piazza are Shops The beginnings of this Noble Building were made by the Excellent Erardus à Marca Bishop of Leige and Cardinal of whom more will be said anon The City of Leige is seated for the greatest City part of it on the West side of the Maese which runs along by it a great way The River makes here a very short turn in two Channels One of which and the lesser of the two compasses a good large Island which is all built and must be accounted part of the City to which it is join'd by several Bridges The bigger Channel of the Maese turns short of the other and runs between this Island and the place call'd the Wyke another part of the City which lies on the East side of the Maese It is a large place well built containing several Streets and seem'd to have its proportion of Trade with the rest of the City to which it is join'd by a good Stone Bridge cross the Maese which has 6 Arches under it A great number of Vessels lay all along by the City on both sides of the River We went along a good way by the Water side to observe what the Ware-houses there are stor'd with The greatest number were of those stockt with Iron and Iron-Utensils Some had great numbers of Bars of Iron others Iron Pots Backs for Chimneys Stoves Frying-pans Nails c. There were also great Stores of Marble squar'd for Floors many great Stores of Coals Some of Butter and Cheese some with Pitch and Tar and Cordage for Ships This City is very large and very full of People and seems to have a great Trade It stands part of it in a flat about the Maese aad a great deal of it runs up some very steep Hills The bigness of it cannot well be judged of by the sight though one can take several prospects over it all as we did with a great deal of pleasure because it hides it self from the sight in several steep Hollows and Descents There are some Vineyards above the City at the top and on the steepest part of the Hill within the compass of the Wall The Streets of the City have no beauty they are very narrow and few of them strait the buildings are much like the Old City of London They are commonly 3 or 4 Stories in height but those Stories are not very high ones The New buildings which are the repair of the Mischief which the Mareschal de Boufflers did with his Bombs in the late War are generally built after the common new Fashion and like our new buildings in London they are mostly built with Brick or Stone It was but a very small part of the Town which was hurt in proportion to the whole It is chiefly a little tract from St. Lamberts Church down to the Water-side and along by the Water somewhat above and below the Bridge to the Wyke The City House was ruin'd The front Wall of it is good part standing it does not seem by the remainders to have been a very great or Magnificent Building It stood upon the Great Market as it is call'd which is indeed the widest and most spacious place that we saw in this City but not very big We went up a very long Street and a steep Hill to the Cittadel which stands above the whole City Where having ask'd leave of the Corporal who was then in Duty there we were permitted to walk upon the brow of the Hill which overlooks the whole City and views the Country for a good way about upwards and down the River Here we could see the short turn which the River makes Our
it is planted with Lime-Trees on both Sides and tho' it is broad enough for more than two Coaches to go abreast in it yet the Trees mingle their Boughs over Head from both Sides and make a thick Covert all the way We walk'd in this Way a good while and were told it continues such for the length of three Miles strait from the City then it turns a little and is planted on both Sides with Firr-Trees and so goes on to Zante When we left it to go for Bergendale we were still all the way entertain'd with the Pleasure of Plantations of Trees in Rows sometimes of one sort sometimes of another Bergendale is a Place agreeable Bergendale to the Name of it which signifies a Valley in a Hill For it is a small Fall of the Ground of the Compass but of a few Acres surrounded with the rising of the Hill which stands up about it I believe almost as high as the Tops of the tall Trees that are planted in it these stand pretty thick in it and make it a pleasant Grove This Place Prince Maurice whom the People call Stadtholder of Cleve chose for a Country Retirement He was Governour of this Dutchy and some of the Neighbouring Provinces under the Electour of Brandenburg He has built here a little Timber House I think with only several small Ground-Rooms It is Weather-boarded on the outside and altogether plain and without Finery within But this Person was the Man who adorn'd and beautified the City of Cleve with all those Plantations of Trees which make the Place so extreamly pleasant He has built here a thick Stone Wall which stands as a Segment of a Circle and in it are fastned several Roman Urns and Inscriptions several of these were found at Zante or other Places of this Dutchy and such things are often found hereabouts a certain Demonstration that the Romans had a considerable Settlement here The Urns are most of them somewhat broken Vrns and appear to have been but thin Pots they are all Earthen ones and of several Shapes some long and slender some short and broad in Proportion There was I suppose nothing in them at present To fulfil the proposed End of this Account I shall here insert the Use which the Romans made of these things for the Entertainment of those to whom it may be unknown When they fell into the Custom of Burning their Dead Bodies they perform'd it after the following Manner When the Dead Body had been for seven whole days together wash'd anointed and call'd to by the nearest of Kin at length with solemn Pomp it was carried out to the Burning The Pile of Wood was built in Form of an Altar and sweet-smelling Woods were mingled among others that the Smell of the Body in Burning might not offend the Company The Dead Body was laid upon the Pile with the Face upwards a Piece of Money was put into the Mouth to pay Charon the supposed Ferry-man of the Stygian Lake who was to conduct his Soul over that to the Elysian Fields or Place of Bliss And they thought the Soul still remain'd with the Body even after Death till the Body was dissolv'd When they had done this the nearest of Kin took a lighted Torch and with the Face turn'd away set Fire to the Pile sometimes precious Liquors as rich Wines or perfum'd Oils were thrown upon the Fire as it was burning and sometimes rich Cloaths and Gold or Silver were thrown into the Flames when any Great Person was burn'd and the Custom grew to an Excess which the Government thought fit to restrain by a Law While the Fire lasted some of their Slaves were kill'd or Captives taken in War at the burning of a Commander or else hir'd Gladiatours fought and blooded one the other as a Sacrifice and Attonement to the Infernal Gods When the Wood was all consum'd and the Body the same Person that lighted the Pile gathered up the Ashes of the Body which remain'd and any bits of Bones that were not burnt and having first wash'd them with Milk and Wine put them into these Urns. After which this Person and the rest of the Company were three times sprinkled by the Priest with clean Water The Person that lighted the Fire gave the Word that the Assembly might depart and they in departing pronounced mournfully and aloud the Word Farewel to which they commonly added this moreover In the Order which Nature permits we shall follow thee The Urn with the Ashes in it was buried and an Altar was erected by the Place of Burial On that Altar which was as it were a Sepulchral Monument there was an Inscription Roman Inscriptions expressing who the Person was whose Ashes were there buried Over the Inscription they commonly set these Words Diis Manibus Sacrum or else the first Letters only for them as D. M. or D. M. S. And some of the Inscriptions here seen appear by this to have belong'd to Sepulchres The Meaning of this was different according to the different Opinion which they had that built these Monuments Some by their Manes meant Pluto and the other Infernal Gods to whom they hereby recommended the Souls of the Dead Others call'd the very Souls of the Dead Manes and reckon'd that they became of the Number of those Gods and so they erected these Altars as an Honour to them There are several Stones fastned in the Wall fore-mention'd with Inscriptions upon them which signified that some of them belong'd to the Altars of the Romans and some to their Sepulchral Monuments On some of these I saw the Letters D. M. S. On one these words at length Dijs Manibus the word Sacrum for Holy being understood Of one Inscription I made out thus much Marc Caelio Fil Leg. 18. An. 5â— Occidit Bello P. Caelius Pater Fecit Which signifies that this belong'd to a Sepulchral Monument erected by P. Caelius the Father for his Son Marcus Caelius who in the 53d Year of his Age died in a certain War of the Romans which was there express'd but the Letters are now so defaced I could not read them On one Stone there are Three Images in a row at the top and under them this Inscription following J. O. M. for Jovi Optimo Maximo Junoni Minervae Tovartinius Saturnalis signifer Leg. 30. V. V. pro se suis V. S. L. M. This was an Inscription upon an Altar dedicated to the Three Deities nam'd and whose Images were upon the Stone which Altar was erected to their Honour by the Person nam'd who was Ensign-bearer to the 30th Legion This Altar he had sometime before vow'd to build for the Prosperity of him and his and having perform'd his Vow the Four last Letters which stand for these Words Voto Sotuto Libenter Merito signifie that he had done it willingly it being deserv'd of him by the Favour of the Gods Another Inscription runs thus Fortunae Sacrum Sextilius Lepidus Vet. Leg. 30. V. V.