The remaining services consist principally of the mass, the de- livery of the breviary to the nuns, and their return to the gate
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of the monastery, where the pontiff formally presents them to the abbess. The pontiff then returns to the church, and closes the whole with the beginning of the Gospel according to John. The " Ceremony of Recep- tion" takes place, among the Sisters of Mercy, etc., when the novice takes the white veil ; the " Ceremony of Pro- fession" is when the novice takes the black veil and the vows with a promise '■ to persevere until death." Fos- broke's British Monachism distinguishes the profession from the consecration of a nun thus:
"The former applied to any woman, whether virgin or not, and could be done by an abbot or visitor of the house, after the year of probation and cliange of the habit; but consecration could only be made by the bishop. Nuns were usually professed at the age of sixteen, but ttiey could not be consecrated till twenty-five ; and this veil could only be given on festivals and Sundays." "In the year 44G pope Leo ordered that a nun should receive the veil, consecrated by a bishop, only when she was a virgin."
The following description of the ceremonial of a nov- ice taking the vows is from the pen of an eye-witness of the scene as it took place in Kome :
" By particular favor we had been furnished with bil- lets for the best seats, and, after waiting half an hour, two footmen in rich liveries made way for the young Countess, who entered the crowded church in full dress, her dark hair blazing with diamonds. Supported by her mother, she advanced to the altar. The offlciatiug priest was the cardinal Vicario, a tine-looking old man ; the dis- ccfirse from the pulpit was pronounced by a Dominican monk, who addressed lier as the affianced spouse of Christ — a saint ou earth, one who had renounced the vanities of the world for a foretaste of the joys of heaven. The sermon ended, the lovely victim herself, kneeling before the altar at the feet of tlie cardinal, solemnly abjured that world whose pleasures and affections she seemed so well calculated to enjoy, and pronounced those vows which severed her from them forever. As her voice in soft re- citative chanted these fatal words, I believe there was scarcely an eye in the whole of that vast church unmois- tened by tears. The diamonds that sparkled in her dark hair were taken off, and her long and beautiful tresses fell luxuriantly down her shoulders. The grate that was to entomb her was opened. The abbess and her black train of nuns appeared. Their choral voices chanted a strain of welcome. It said, or seemed to say, 'Sister spirit, come away.' She renounced her name and title, adopted a new api)ellatiou, received the solemn benedic- tion of the cardinal, and the last embraces of her weeping- friends, and passed into that bourne whence she was never to return. A panel behind the high-altar now opened, and she appe'ared at the grate again. She was now despoiled of lier ornaments and her splendid attire, her beautiful hair was mercilessly severed from her head l)y the fatal shears of the sisters, and they hastened to in- vest her with the sober robes of the nun — the white coif and the novitiate veil. Throughout the whole ceremony she showed great calmness and firmness, and it was not till all was over that her eyes were moistened with tears of natural emotion. She at'ienvards appeared at the little postern-gate of the convent to receive the sympathy and praise and congratulations of all her friends and acquaint- ances, nay, even of strangers, all of whom are expected to pay their compliments to the new spouse of heaven."
The description here given refers to the first profession of a lunr on the taking of the white veil, a step which forms the commencement of the novitiate or year of trial, and is not irrevocable. But the profession, properly so called, or the taking of the black veil, is the conclusion of the novitiate, and the commencement of the regular life of the professed nun. When once this ceremony has been gone through, the step, lx)th in the eye of the Koman Church and in the eye of the civil law in Koman Cath- olic countries, is beyond recall. The individual who has taken tlie black veil is a recluse for life, and can only be released from her vow by death. The ceremony which thus seals the ntm's doom for life is attended, of course, with peculiar solemnity and interest. We give a graphic account of it from the pen of the Rev. Hobart Seymour, as contained in his Pilgrimafje to Rome :
"In a short time the mas^ses were finished, and before long the seats were occupied with persons coming to wit- ness the scene. The cardinal-vicar, to whose province the reception of nuns belongs, arrived. He robed, assumed his mitre, held his croy.ier, and seated himself in front of the high-altar. He was robed in silver tissue brocaded with gold. In a few moments the destined bride of Jesus Christ entered. She was led into the chapel and along the aisle by the princess Borghete. They knelt for a few