of love, that prayer of a child to his Father which He that man of sorrows dictated to His beloved disciples; and then remembering those sins, by which he offended that dear and agonising parent, and touched with sorrow and repentance, yet more and more excited by the music, I might almost call it celestial, his heart calls loudly for that mercy to obtain which Jesus died.  He joins with God’s minister in fervently repeating the prayer imploring God’s blessing on those for whom Christ suffered and died:  the noise which follows it recals to his mind the confusion of nature at the death of her creator; the lighted candle once more appearing reminds him that His death was only temporary:  and he departs in silence impressed with pious sentiments, and inflamed with devout affections.

[Sidenote:  Miserere, its music.]

They who have assisted at the office of Tenebrae will not be surprised at the saying of a philosopher, that for the advantage of his soul he would wish, that when he was about to render it up to God, he might hear sung the Miserere of the Pope’s chapel.  In no other place has this celebrated music succeeded.  Baini the director of the Pontifical choir, in a note to his life of Palestrina, observes that Paride de Grassi, Master of ceremonies to Leo X, mentions that on holy wednesday (A.D. 1519), the singers chanted the Miserere in a new and unaccustomed manner, alternately singing the verses in symphony.  This seems to be the origin of the far-famed Miserere.  Various authors, whom Baini enumerates, afterwards composed Miserere[52]; but the celebrated composition of Gregorio Allegri a Roman, who entered the Papal college of singers in 1629, was the most successful, and was for some time sung on all the three days of Tenebrae.  Then one composed by Alessandro Scarlatti, or that of Felice Anerio, used to be sung on holy thursday:  but these were eclipsed by the Miserere, composed in 1214 by Tommase Bai a Bolognese, director of the choir of S. Peter’s.  From that time only Allegri’s and Bai’s were sung in the Pope’s chapel; till Pius VII directed the celebrated Baini to compose a new Miserere, which has received well-merited applause.  Since the year 1821 all three, viz.  Baini’s, Bai’s, and Allegri’s Misereres are sung on the three successive days, and generally in the order in which we have mentioned them:  the two latter are sometimes blended together.  The first verse is sung in harmony, the second in plain chant, and so successively till the last verse, which alone is sung in harmony by both the choirs, into which the singers are divided; only one choir sings the other verses[53].

[Sidenote:  Cardinal penitentiary]

[Sidenote:  Trinita dei Pellegrini]

On Wednesday-afternoon, the Cardinal great Penitentiary goes in state to S. Mary Major’s, where the minor Penitentiaries are Dominicans.  For an account of this custom see the preceding chapter.  On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, Christians may be edified at the Trinita dei Pellegrini[54] by the sight of Cardinals, princes, prelates and others, washing in good earnest, and afterwards kissing the feet of poor pilgrims, while they recite with them the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, and other beautiful prayers, such as;