There is another decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites referring to this matter:— “Dubium LVIII. An sacerdos qui juxta Rituale, superpelliceo et stola indutus praefuit clationi corporis debeat retinere stolam dum praeest matutino et Laudibus quae immediate sequuntur? Saltem si in hac Functione utatur Pluviali, quum in eo casu non possit deponere stolam quin per aliquantis Pluviale exuat? “Ad LVIII. In utroque casu licere. Die 12 Augusti, 1864”. We may observe that a direct answer is not given to the question, which was proposed with the view of ascertaining what should be done in two special cases, and the only answer given was “in utroque casu licere”. Hence a priest might wear the stole and cope, but should he not do so, he would not follow a course at variance with this decree. No doubt, in some rubrical works, express mention is made of the stole and cope, and still more frequently of one or the other; but the Roman Ritual, as we said, does not prescribe either at the office of the dead, and when their use is pointed out, it generally refers to the cathedral churches, where the ceremonies are carried out with greater pomp and solemnity, than in those rural churches to which our correspondent refers. We may also observe that the decree above quoted, does not contemplate the use of the stole and cope apart from the procession. On the whole, considering the circumstances of our churches, we would in practice dispense with stole and cope at the office, while we would be slow to condemn the use of the cope, if such a custom existed in any church that in other respects carried out the ceremonies of the Church with accuracy and decorum. But we consider that the decree of 7th September, 1850, above quoted, clearly lays down that the stole ought not to be used, though we find it more frequently used on such occasions than the cope, on the ground, perhaps, that it is an emblem of jurisdiction in the person who presides. 3. In reply to the third question, we beg to say that the Mass should commence immediately at the end of the lauds, which terminate with the prayer, and after the prayer, the Requiem aeternam, etc., and Requiescant in pace should not be said: it is only when the ceremony concludes that these are to be said. “In fine Laudum dicta oratione, non adduntur versus Requiem aeternam, nec Requiescant, sive sequatur Missa sive hac omissa statim procedatur ad absolutionem, quia hi versus, qui deserviunt in ultimum vale defunctis, sunt in fine precum reservandi”.(64) The prayer at the end of Lauds on such occasions should be said cum conclusione brevi. We give the following extracts from Cavalieri, a distinguished rubricist, who writes, in tom. 3, cap. 2, decr. 16, n. 13:—