MALE AN]) FEMALE SOCIETIES.

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a strong predilection in favour of their early companions. Girls, on the other h and, areregarded as of the same societe du dimanche, and meet at some of the parents’ housesevery Sunday, hut neither fathers nor mothers, nor even brothers or sisters, except of thesame society, are present. A sort of light supper, as of pastry and fruit, is given them,of which they partake at discretion, and do and say just what they please. Simond,the first we have met with to state tho fact, says: “ A sort of natural subordinationestablishes itself among them; the cleverest and most good-natured, the strongest andthe wisest, soon acquire an influence over the others, which increases gradually withage. They feel no jealousy of a superiority insensibly established and acknowledged bythemselves ; it reflects credit on the whole voUe, or societe, the merits of one number arethe boast of all, and thus twelve individuals are led to take the best among them fortheir model. There have been examples of young female orphans extremely welleducated by their societe, others have there found means to counteract the bad educationthey received at home; but there is not one instance of a whole association beingcontaminated by tho vicious propensities of an individual.”

In Homan Catholic Switzerland there is a priest for about every hundred and fiftypersons; while in the portions of the country accounted Protestant , there is but oneminister to seven hundred of the people. The difference is ascribed to the parishesbeing smaller in the former case than in the latter, and to several priests being attachedto one establishment. Of priests and monks there arc said to be indeed more thanfive thousand. There are sixty convents, and about two thousand nuns. Of onepart of the Romish system, Mr. Noel gives the following illustration :—“ On ourroad from Thusis to Coirc wo passed, in the village of Katzis, a building which ourcoachman called a Heiligen Ilaus; and as the chapel door was open, we entered. Behinda grating which separated the west gallery from the body of the building some nunswere intoning their lugubrious latin. Their faces, partially visible through tho skreen,were directed towards the east end of the building, where several figures were placed tosublime their devotions. First, on each side of the altar stood two gilded images, mostperfectly expressing stolidity and utter vacancy of mind : then, in a niche on the southwall, stood the figure of the Romish Queen of Heaven, represented as so athletic, that ;instead of holding her baby to her bosom, she extends her arm horizontally with thepalm of the hand, also horizontal, and then, on a dirty pocket-handkerchief, spread overher hand like a table-cloth, holds up both her baby and all the dirty finery with whichhe is loaded. Apparently the Romish Queen docs not always indulge in such expense,for near the centre of the chapel is another figure, in which she is represented by such adoll as might frighten a grenadier, holding in her left arm her baby, who is perfectlynaked, except that a huge red ribbon is fastened round its neck, about twice as long andtwice as broad as his whole body. But the most glorious object before which these nunschanted their Latin is the image of a military saint, who holds in his hand a grim visage,such as pictures represent the head of Goliath in the hand of young David. But thisGrison knight has made a great mistake; for instead of severing the head of his enemyhe has somehow decapitated himself, and yet, though he stands thus headless, his trunkis surmounted by a triple crimson plume, which would have moved the envy of RichardCocur de Lion, or any other feathered crusader, by its brilliant loftiness. What seemed,however, to bo a plume of crimson ostrich feathers, proves, on inspection, to be a fountainof blood, so rich and strong that tho jets of Versailles or St. Peter’s at Rome couldscarcely be finer. The strength of the blood-jet can only be accounted for by tho zeal ofthe saint; who, at the moment of cutting off' his own head, was boiling like the Geysers of Iceland , so that the blood sprang up with proportionable force; and thus, by thegenius of the artist, it boils, and will boil as long as Grison nuns are to be edified bycatholic methods in that convent. What the priests could mean by portraying that