Many of the customs, laws and institutions are very singular. Priests are seen in great numbers on every side. I meet them on every street. From the peculiarity of their dress, there is no mistaking their profession. Those of the superior order are clothed in black, and their heads display the accompaniment of a three-cornered hat. Those of another class present a shorn crown to the evening breeze and the noonday sun; and the meanness of their garments are intended to represent their vows of austere indigence. A coarse woollen dress is attached to the body by a rope loosely tied around the waist, from which hang their rosary beads and a small crucifix. Their feet are shod with a species of sandals. They are generally seen two together, and are very unlike the wealthy ecclesiastics, who mingle freely with the best society. The other day, as I was returning from a walk, I fell into the following reflections: I am alone and a stranger in this great city--eight thousand miles from my beloved family, surrounded by a people with whose manners and peculiarities I am unacquainted. I have come to enlighten their minds and instruct them in principles of righteousness; but I see no possible means of accomplishing this object. All is darkness in the prospect. While I thus walked gloomily along the thronged streets, I was suddenly awakened from my reverie by a glance of recognition from a gentleman passing, and was not a little pleased to find him an Englishman, with whom I had previously formed a slight acquaintance. He accosted me in a friendly manner--said he had called at my lodging, but was disappointed in not finding me at home. He wished me to write down the heads of subjects on which I sought information, which, he assured me, he would spare no pains to procure. He thought the society of many English visitors in Genoa was not suitable to men religiously inclined, as I appeared, and could not recommend them to my acquaintance. He accompanied me to my lodging, and desired to know in what way I thought this country could be spiritually benefitted. He evidently believed that I was a missionary, and was about to open a campaign against Catholicism; and he seemed exceedingly anxious to engage in the laudable undertaking. Comprehending the state of his feelings, I looked him steadfastly in the face, and said: "Do you think, Mr. A., that the Lord had any hand in your coming to this place?" "I do," said he, "for when letters were sent informing me I could have a situation whereby I could support my family, I opened them and spread them before the Lord, and knelt upon my knees, asking Him what I should do, and the Spirit manifested to me it was wisdom to come." I then said: "Mr. A., I have entered this country to establish the kingdom of God. The Lord God of Heaven has sent me. The Holy Ghost has sent me. The President of the Church of Jesus Christ has sent me, and the prayers of a hundred