The congregation of scholastics begun this year has made the best of progress. Every month, according to the rules, they make their confession to the priest, and partake of the divine food. On feast-days they spend the afternoons in listening to spiritual reading and in commemorating the examples of the saints. The solemn feasts of the Blessed Virgin they celebrate with the greatest fervor and joy. On one of these they go with their cloaks cast off, each with a silver ewer and basin in his hands, and carry food to the prisons, marching in the finest order and system; and with great readiness and humility they serve the unhappy men. They are believed to have taken their manner of procedure, in all respects, from the congregation at Rome. The privileges of the Sodality, also, have so much attracted laymen that it has been necessary to divide them into two orders. As for the adult men and householders who look forward to spending Sundays and feast-days to advantage in the Sodality, the father-visitor has made a beginning, by delivering to them familiar exhortations, and narratives of pious examples taken from the Lives of the Saints; and we have every reason to hope that the undertaking will succeed to the greater glory of God, with the most noble of advantages to the city. Even now there are some who, having heard one or another sermon, have entered upon more holy and profitable ways of living than they followed before. A beginning was also made this year in selecting some saint's name by lot (a custom introduced in some towns); and there has been a great concourse of people. One man was plunged into the sea along with many others in the naval battle with the Dutch already spoken of; but because he invoked the name of his patron, St. Nicanor, who had fallen to his lot that month, he was rescued from that danger in which the others were swallowed up; and by swimming a whole league at last got to shore, to his own great wonder. The number of those confessing and communicating this year has surpassed that of any previous year, for upon their old devotion has been heaped up new, kindled by the torches of calamity. The quarrels of many have also been brought to an end. In Lent, moreover, their zeal for all piety flamed forth in the confession of many evils, and in doing penance for them with daily scourgings, and other exercises of devotion.