his reforms, who received the scarcely complimentary soubriquet of Arrabbiati, or the rabid or infuriated.

It was at this period, too, that Savonarola and his ecclesiastical superiors first came into open collision. Alexander the Sixth possessed the tiara, a man who has the reputation of being not merely the most profligate of the Popes, but one of the most profligate persons in history. Savonarola did not scruple to denounce his vices, and there were many who were only too ready to create difficulties between the Pope and the Priest. A report of one of Savonarola's most violent sermons was taken down and sent to Rome for the special edification of his Holiness. He told a bishop to answer it; he, however, had the good sense to hint that it would be hard work to shew that the Church sanctioned the vices which Savonarola denounced, and suggested that a far better way to silence him would be to offer him preferment. This was done: a Cardinal's hat was sent to Florence, and as we might expect, was declined by the person for whom it was intended.

The next time the Pope dealt with Savonarola it was in another tone. In July, 1495, the Pope invited him to Rome; but, seeing through the artifice, Savonarola declined to go. Other briefs followed, their object being to prohibit him from preaching. In 1496 the Pope permitted him to betake himself again to the pulpit, but not for long. The very next year we find the Pope hurling against the Florentine priest the extreme penalty of the law ecclesiastical, excommunication. For some time Savonarola was content to obey the papal mandate and remained silent; but at length, on Christmas day, he defied the bull of the Pope and preached to a crowded audience in San Marco, and having once taken the irrevocable step his subsequent action became easy enough. In his open defiance of ecclesiastical authority he was materially aided by the Florentines themselves, and it was at their special request that he resumed his ministrations in the Cathedral, this time taking the illegality of his excommunication as his theme.

But we must hurry onwards to the closing scenes of his life. So confident was he of his divine commission as a prophet, that he challenged his enemies the Franciscans to an ordeal. One day, in the presence of the people of Florence, he held in his hands the host, or consecrated wafer, and besought heaven to consume him by fire if he were an impostor. Of course no fire descended, and the effect of the ordeal, so far as it had any effect at all, was decidedly in his favour.

But he was soon to take part in an ordeal that was to prove his utter ruin. A Franciscan named Francesco, in the course of a violent denunciation of Savonarola, challenged him to pass through the fire as a test of his divine mission. Of this challenge the Prior of St. Mark would probably have taken no notice; but, unfortunately, Fra Domenico, one of his followers, felt himself called upon, in the interests of his master, to accept it. Francesco declined at first to have anything to do with any substitute; but it was ultimately agreed that Fra Domenico should represent Savonarola's party, and Fra Giuliano Rondinelli the Franciscans. The 6th of April was the time fixed upon for this contest,

and on that day all the preparations were completed and the people anxiously awaited the trial; but the hero of the Franciscans considered "discretion the better part of valour," and at the last moment declined the ordeal. The whole affair was a failure; the crowd felt that they had It was been duped, and wreaked their vengeance upon Savonarola. necessary for him, who had once been the hero of Florence, to be escorted by an armed force back to the Convent.

The next Sunday the mob made an attack upon the Convent of San Marco, and Savonarola, with two of his followers, was arrested by His days were now order of the government and taken to the Palazzo. numbered; encircled by his enemies, he had no way of escape. All the means which those dear lovers of liberty and charity, the priests of the Catholic Church, could devise, were resorted to, to induce him to acknowledge himself an impostor. Under the torture of the rack he made confessions which he afterwards repudiated. We will draw a veil It is not a pleasant story; one man, over this part of his history. distraught by suffering, opposed to the combined villany of creatures whose religious pretensions made them only the more unworthy to be called men. On the 23rd of May, 1497, occurred the last scene in the With his two friends, Domenico and life of this truly remarkableman. Maruffi, he was led out to execution. The Bishop of Vaison, in stripping off his priestly vestments, said to Savonarola, "I separate you from the Church militant and the Church triumphant." "Not from the Church triumphant," said Savonarola, "that is beyond your power." He was hung first, then burnt, and his ashes were thrown into the river Arno. Thus perished one of the noblest of the many noble men which the Church of Rome has produced. He fell a martyr to the intolerance and bigotry of a Church which we are sometimes told was the birthplace of liberty.

Pure in an age of corruption,

He

"His soul was like a star and dwelt apart." When at the height of his power, he used that power for the best interests of his fellow-countrymen. No one can impeach his honesty or his patriotism. He set before him a high ideal, a theocracy. wished Jesus Christ to rule in Florence, and all his efforts were directed to that object. Everything that opposed this ideal had to be sacrificed, Had he no matter how precious it might appear in the eyes of the people. His was a lofty ideal, but unfortunately, one hitherto unattainable. set himself up for a king, he would have succeeded; and he might have died surrounded by the splendour of a court, and have left a firm and But, at the time that his established government for his successors. influence was at its highest, he was still the monk of St. Mark. Singlehanded he fought the world, and he met with the fate which is reserved for those who undertake this Quixotic adventure,-the hatred and scorn of his opponents, the love, veneration, and admiration of all rightminded men.

H. O. J.

COGITANDA.

I.

Not what I have, but what I am :

'Tis not the purse, but heart and brain :

A palace may but hide a slave;

A lowly hut a king contain.

II.

'Tis not the blind alone who cannot see;
But men, with open eyes, in broad daylight,
Walk through this wondrous world, and ever be
Like children groping in the darkest night.

III.

What though you walk on ice, or burning sand,
Each step you take will bring you further on :
What matter, though beset on either hand,
If at the end the victory be won.

IV.

With noble aims make rich thy life,
An upward pathway keep;

God did not give the form erect,
To grovel, cringe, and creep.

Yet never pass the lowliest thing,
Without a sign of love;

For high and low one golden chain
Links unto God above.

V.

No matter what thy hopes may be,

How high thy aims, how great thy cause

Nature will only work for thee,

While thou art true to Nature's laws.

VI.

Stand on thy feet, and learn to walk alone,

Use thy own hands, and eyes, and heart, and brain. Be monarch of thyself, lord of thy own,

And not a vassal in a servile train.

VII.

Let others fight for shibboleths and creeds,
The letter keep which holds the soul in thrall:
The spirit follow thou where'er she leads;
Accept the truth that dwells within them all.

VIII.

God's laws change not, and blest is he who knows.
How to conform to their unerring sway;
His life is free from vain and empty shows,
And moves harmoniously from day to day.

MAGAZINES, &c., RECEIVED.

THE THEATRE.-(London: Wyman & Sons.) We have before us the three monthly parts published since our last issue, each number being as interesting in its printed matter, and as attractive in its illustrations as the first to which we drew the attention of our readers. Although we cannot, ourselves, lay any claim to the title of "Theatre goers" in the full sense of the term, we must confess that the sayings and doings of the Theatrical world have a strange fascination for us, and, as a consequence, we devour the contents of this Magazine from the first page to the last, with a keen sense of enjoyment. All who believe in the possibility of a pure and refined Stage, should not only welcome the advent of this periodical as a step in the right direction, but should assist in the good work by purchasing it for themselves, and recommending it to their friends. Amongst the Woodbury type portraits, those of Miss Bateman, Miss Wallis, Mr. Burnand, and Mr. Charles Warner are especially clear and characteristic.

IS INDIA WORth Keeping?—(London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co.) This pamphlet, albeit a very small one, treats of a very large subject; too large in fact for consideration here. We desire, however, to point out to the members of the C. L. A. that the theme referred to would form an excellent one for debate, especially at a time like the present, when India necessarily engrosses so much of public thought and attention. Should this hint be taken, the pamphlet will be found exceedingly useful, not only for the direct information it affords, but for the references given to the chief authorities on this important question.

THE SMALL HEATH MAGAZINE.-(Birmingham: Davis Brothers.) This, the third number of our local contemporary is an excellent shilling's worth of varied and interesting reading. The first article, on "The Church and the Stage," is another of the forcible appeals which were initiated by the Bishop of Manchester, on behalf of the Drama, and affords unmistakeable evidence of the interest now taken in this subject by right-thinking and earnest men. To the examples adduced in this article, of the efforts made by actors and actresses in the cause of charity, we may add the recent entertainment given by Mr. and Mrs. Kendal in our Town Hall, on behalf of the Queen's Hospital, whereby a sum of upwards of two hundred pounds was realised; and we venture to say that a considerable portion of the vast and delighted audience then assembled, was composed of persons who persistently abstain from attending theatres-not for want of a due appreciation of the Dramatic Art-but from a superstitious antipathy to the building itself. Once this deep-seated prejudice removed, and the long hoped for Reform would be accomplished.

"The Image of Baal," by our versatile writer and lecturer, Lawson Tait, is an attempt to adopt Darwin's Evolutionary Philosophy to a development of the Conception of a Deity. The paper is written with the author's usual boldness, but we fear the peculiar association of the two ideas, would tempt the reader to characterise the effort rather as "Tait's tadpolian theory," or the art of evolving a tale out of his own head, rather than as a convincing argument in favour of his speculations.

The article on "Our Indian Empire," is historical and instructive, and would have been none the less interesting if the sneer at the Earl of Beaconsfield had been omitted. Thoughtful papers on "Shelley" and "Cobden," and a well-timed article on "Our Babies," illustrating the terrible mortality of our infant population, combine, with some poetical contributions, much above the average, to make up a most interesting number.

We have also received the Magazin für die Literatur des Auslandes (Lehmann, Leipzig.)