§9 
the afhes of an Egyptian monarch, 
Bufiris or Sefoftris, than for a 
Chriftian prieft or fovereign, fince 
univerfal dominio has been abo- 
lifhed. Nothing, however, caz look 
very grand in St. Peter’s church; 
and though I faw the general be- 
nediction given (I hope partook 
it) upon Eafter Day, my conftant 
impreffion was, that the people 
were below the place; no pomp, 
‘no glare, no dove and glory on the 
chair of ftate, but what looked too 
little for the area that contained 
them, . Sublimity difdains to catch 
the. vulgar eye, fhe elevates the 
foul; nor can long-drawn procef- 
fions, or fplendid ceremonies, fuffice 
to content thofe travellers who feek 
for images that never tarnifh, and 
for truths that never can decay. 
‘Pius Sextus, in-his morning drefs, 
paying his private devotions at the 
altar, without any pageantry, and 
with very few attendants, ftruck 
gme more a thoufand and a thoufand 
‘times, than when, arrayed in gold, 
‘in colours, and diamonds, he was 
carried to the front of a balcony 
big enough to have contained the 
conclave; and there, fhaded by 
two white fans, which though real- 
ly enormous, looked no larger than 
that a girl carries in her pocket, 
pronounced words which on account 
of the height they came from were 
‘difficult to hear. 
All thisis known and felt by the 
‘managers of thefe theatrical exhibi- 
tions fo certainly, that they judici- 
“oufly confine great part of them to 
‘the Capella Svcftini, which being 
large enough to imprefs the mind 
with its folemnity, and not {pacious 
“enough for the priefts, congrega- 
tion, and all, tobe loit in it, is well 
adapted for thofe various functions 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 
-mind—the abfence of all inftru- 
that, really make Rome a {cene of 
perpetual gata during the holy 
week; which an Englith friend 
here protefted to me he had never 
{pent with fo little devotion in his 
life before. The miferere has, how- 
ever, a ftrong power over one’s 
mental mufic, the fteadinefs of fo 
many human voices, the gloom of 
the place, the piéture of Michael 
Angelo’s laft judgment covering its 
walls, united with the mourning 
drefs of the {peétators—is altoge- 
ther calculated with great ingenui- 7 
ty to give a fudden ftroke to the 
imagination, and kindle that tem- 
porary blaze of devotion it is wifely 
enough intended to excite. 
Account of a fingular Cuftom at Me- 
telin, with fome Conjectures on the 
Antiquity of its Origin. By the — 
Right Honourable James Earl of — 
Charlemont, Prefident R. J. A. 
From the Tranfaétions of the Royal 
Irifh Academy, 1789. 
Hough the extreme beauty 
re and amenity of the Grecian © 
iflands, efpecially thofe on the Afi- 
atic fide of the Egean fea, may © 
render it difficult to make a choice 
among them, yet, if I were defired — 
to declare a preference, I fhould © 
probably fix on Metelin, the an- — 
cient Lefbos.— This enchanting — 
ifland, proud of the birth of Al- — 
ceus and of Sappho, ftill retains © 
