ished
at Grand Bassam, in 1851. The printing press, already referred to, has
contributed powerfully to facilitate missionary work. Seven diverse
languages are now taught, viz.: Wolof, Serer, Saracole, Abule, Mpongue,
Bingue and Balu, or Boulou.

It is somewhat remarkable that in all the countries connected as colonies
with Great Britain, where Protestantism is so persistently adhered to,
there should prevail the greatest liberty as regards the exercise of the
Catholic religion. Thus, Cape Colony (Cape of Good Hope) was no sooner
transferred from the rule of Holland to that of Britain than the Holy
Father was enabled to extend his care to the Catholics of that remote
land. A bishop was appointed, and missions speedily established. There are
now three bishops, vicars apostolic, at Cape Town, Graham's Town, Natal.
The islands Mauritius and Bourbon, each of which has a population of more
than 100,000 souls, share the solicitude of the church and its august
Head. They are not both equally favored by their civil rulers. The former
was annexed to Great Britain in 1810. The Holy Father provides for its
spiritual welfare, confiding its administration to a bishop and a
sufficient number of priests, all of whom receive salaries from the
government. The bishops hitherto have been members of the illustrious
order of St. Benedict, and some of them have enjoyed a high reputation in
the church, such as the learned and eloquent Bishop Morris, and the pious
and accomplished Bishop Collier. Bourbon Island, until of late, 1850, when
a bishop was appointed, had not been so fortunate. An eminent French
writer rather satirically remarks, that it would have to wait until France
ceded all her colonies to the British. There are, however, some priests
who, together with the bishop, minister to the spiritual wants of the
people. Great efforts have been made to establish missions in the large
and populous Island of Madagascar, which, according to geographers, is
1,000 miles in length.

The priests of the congregation of St. Vincent of Paul, as zealous now as
in the days of their illustrious founder, have penetrated into Abyssinia,
and are laboring to bring about a complete reconciliation of that once
eminently Christian nation to the church of Pius IX. The AEthiopian may
not, indeed, change his skin. But, according to the reports of the
missionaries, these people are changing their ideas, and giving proofs of
a disposition to return to the centre