lation and petitions to the saint. Just in front
of the altar were the lazzaroni who claimed to be descendants of the
saint's family, and these were especially importunate: at such times
they beg, they scold, they even threaten; they have been known to abuse
the saint roundly, and to tell him that, if he did not care to show his
favour to the city by liquefying his blood, St. Cosmo and St. Damian
were just as good saints as he, and would no doubt be very glad to have
the city devote itself to them. At last, on the occasion above referred
to, the priest, turning the vials suddenly, announced that the saint had
performed the miracle, and instantly priests, people, choir, and organ
burst forth into a great Te Deum; bells rang, and cannon roared; a
procession was formed, and the shrine containing the saint's relics was
carried through the streets, the people prostrating themselves on both
sides of the way and throwing showers of rose leaves upon the shrine
and upon the path before it. The contents of these precious vials are an
interesting relic indeed, for they represent to us vividly that period
when men who were willing to go to the stake for their religious
opinions thought it not wrong to save the souls of their fellowmen
by pious mendacity and consecrated fraud. To the scientific eye this
miracle is very simple: the vials contain, no doubt, one of those
mixtures fusing at low temperature, which, while kept in its place
within the cold stone walls of the church, remains solid, but upon being
brought out into the hot, crowded chapel, and fondled by the warm hands
of the priests, gradually softens and becomes liquid. It was curious
to note, at the time above mentioned, that even the high functionaries
representing the king looked at the miracle with awe: they evidently
found "joy in believing," and one of them assured the present writer
that the only thing which COULD cause it was the direct exercise of
miraculous power.

It may be reassuring to persons contemplating a visit to that beautiful
capital in these days, that, while this miracle still goes on, it is
no longer the only thing relied upon to preserve the public health. An
unbelieving generation, especially taught by the recent horrors of the
cholera, has thought it wise to supplement the power of St. Januarius by
the "Risanamento," begun mainly in 1885 and still going on. The drainage
of the city has thus been greatly improved, the old wells closed, and
pure wate