"The ceremony of pious whippings, one of the penances of the convents, still takes place at the time of vespers in the oratory of the Padre Caravita and in another church in Rome. It is preceded by a short exhortation, during which a bell rings, and whips, that is, strings of knotted whipcord, are distributed quietly amongst such of the audience as are on their knees in the nave. On a second bell, the candles are extinguished--a loud voice issues from the altar, which pours forth an exhortation to think of unconfessed, or unrepented, or unforgiven crimes. This continues a sufficient time to allow the kneelers to strip off their upper garments; the tone of the preacher is raised more loudly at each word, and he vehemently exhorts his hearers to recollect that Christ and the martyrs suffered much more than whipping. 'Show, then, your penitence--show your sense of Christ's sacrifice--show it with the whip.' The flagellation begins. The darkness, the tumultuous sound of blows in every direction--'Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us!' bursting out at intervals,--the persuasion that you are surrounded by atrocious culprits and maniacs, who know of an absolution for every crime--so far from exciting a smile, fixes you to the spot in a trance of restless horror, prolonged beyond bearing. The scourging continues ten or fifteen minutes."--_Lord Broughton._ "Each man on entering the church was supplied with a scourge. After a short interval the doors were barred, the lights extinguished; and from praying, the congregation proceeded to groaning, crying, and finally, being worked up into a kind of ecstatic fury, applied the scourge to their uncovered shoulders without mercy."--_Whiteside's Italy in the Nineteenth Century._ Beyond the Caravita is the _Church of S. Ignazio_, built by Cardinal Ludovisi. The façade, of 1685, is by Algardi. It contains the tomb of Gregory XIV. (Nicolo Sfondrati, 1590--91), and that of S. Ludovico Gonzaga, both sculptured by _Le Gros_. "In S. Ignazio is the chapel of San Luigi Gonzaga, on whom not a few of the young Roman damsels look with something of the same kind of admiration as did Clytie on Apollo, whom he and St. Sebastian, those two young, beautiful, graceful saints, very fairly represent in Christian mythology. His festa falls in June, and then his altar is embosomed in flowers, arranged with exquisite taste; and a pile of letters may be seen at its foot, written to the saint by young men and maidens, and directed to Paradiso. They are supposed to be burnt unread, except by San Luigi, who must find singular petitions in these pretty little missives, tied up now with a green ribbon, expressive of hope, now with a red one, emblematic of love, or whatever other significant colour the writer may prefer."--_Mademoiselle Mori._