[Footnote 15:  As the ancient Roman houses had an impluvium in the midst of the atrium, so in the atria annexed to the Christian churches was one or more fountains (Eus.  Eccl.  Hist. l.  X, c. 4) and sometimes a well or cistern.  In these the faithful used to wash their hands (Tertull.  De orat.  Sec., De lavat. man.) Thus in the atrium of St. Paul’s basilica there was a cantharus, restored by Pope Leo I, of which the saint writes thus to Ennodius;

  Quisque suis meritis veneranda sacraria Pauli
      Ingrederis, supplex ablue fonte manus.

The cantharus is mentioned by Virgil Eclog.  VI, 21.

  Et gravis adtrita pendebat cantharus ansa.

A large vessel of this description may be seen in the cortili of S. Cecilia and SS.  Apostoli at Rome.  It used to be blessed on the vigil or festival of the Epiphany, as it is now in the Greek and even the Roman church.  When churches were built without atria, a vessel of blessed water was placed inside the church:  in some of the older churches there is even a well.  See Nibby, Dissert. sulla forma, etc. delle antiche chiese.]

[Footnote 16:  See Le Brun tom.  IV, diss. 15.  Super usu recitandi silentio missae partem etc.  This custom was connected with the discipline of secrecy.  The scripture itself does not mention what words Christ used, when He “gave thanks”, before He pronounced the words of consecration; and the early church imitated this reserve.  Anciently curtains concealed the altar, during the most solemn part of mass, as now in some Oriental churches.  St. John Chrysostom (Hom. 3, in Ep. ad Ephes.) mentions this custom; and traces of it still remain at St. Clement’s church in Rome.]

[Footnote 17:  See ancient inscriptions from the catacombs, containing prayers for the dead in Bock’s Hierurgia (vol. 2, ch. 7), also in Annali delle Scienze Religiose, Luglio 1839, as also in the well-known works on the catacombs.  Bingham admits that the eucharistic sacrifice was offered for S. Augustine, S. Monica, the emperors Constantine and Valentinian at their funerals. (S.  Ambrose prayed for Valentinian Gratian and Theodosius.) “In the communion service” says he “according to the custom of those times, a solemn commemoration was made of the dead in general, and prayers were offered to God for them”.  Bingham, Antiq. l. 23, c. 2.  “The custom of praying and offering up sacrifice for the faithful departed most evidently appears to have prevailed in the church even from the time of the apostles”, says the Protestant bishop Milles, Opera S. Cyrilli. p. 297.  “In primitive times” says Palmer “these commemorations (in the mass) were accompanied by prayers for the departed”.  Origin.  Liturg. vol. 2, p. 94.  With these Protestant admissions before us and many others collected in the Annali delle Scienze Relig.  Luglio 1839, we opine that the Rev. Mr. Breeks ought to have been solicitous for his own soul rather than for that of