of the Church, and makes its influence felt in the
remotest regions of the earth. It is essentially, as its name implies,
a missionary institution, founded for the promotion and guidance of
missions throughout the world. Nearly two hundred youths from various
countries are constantly educated here, in order that they may go back
as ordained priests to their native land, and diffuse the Roman
Catholic faith among their countrymen. The average number ordained
every year is about fifty. No one is admitted who is over twenty years
of age; and they all wear a uniform dress, consisting of a long black
cassock, edged with red, and bound with a red girdle, with two bands,
representing leading-strings, hanging from the shoulders behind. The
cost of their education and support while in Rome, and the expenses of
their journey from their native land and back again, are defrayed by
the institution. Every visitor to Rome must be familiar with the
appearance of the students, as they walk through the streets in groups
of three or four, eagerly conversing with each other, with many
expressive gesticulations. For the most part they are a fine set of
young men, of whom any Church might well be proud, full of zeal and
energy, and well fitted to encounter, by their physical as well as
their mental training, the hard-ships of an isolated life, frequently
among savage races.

An annual exhibition is held in a large hall attached to the college
in honour of the holy Magi, about the beginning of January, when
students deliver speeches in different languages, and take part in
musical performances, the score of which is usually composed by the
professor of music in the college. The places of honour nearest the
stage are occupied by several cardinals, whose scarlet dresses and
silver locks contrast strikingly with the black garments of the
majority of the assemblage. The strange costumes and countenances of
the speakers, coloured with every hue known to the human family, the
novel sounds of the different languages, and the personal
peculiarities of each speaker in manner and intonation, make the
exhibition in the highest degree interesting. Its great popularity is
evinced by the crowds that usually attend, filling the hall to
overflowing; and though a religious affair, it is pervaded by a lively
spirit of fun, in which even the great dignitaries of the Church join
heartily.

The jurisdiction of the Propaganda is independent. The "congregation"