THE POPE AND DR. THOMAS, THE PROPHET.

            Some of our readers may recollect that about two years ago, soon after the bombardment of Rome by the French, we had a visit in this city of a gentleman with a very long beard, who interpreted prophecy with wonderful gravity and precision, and who seemed to bring to the task considerable scriptural erudition, without apparently any of that raving enthusiasm which is the usual and prominent characteristic of reverend-looking pill-doctors, self-glorifying latter-day saints, oratorical Swedenborgians, and other individuals of that description pretending to the valuable gift of inspiration. Dr. Thomas was a grave, sedate, and, barring his long black beard, a very respectable-looking personage. He had, moreover, a particular way of his own, an intimate and enlightened knowledge of passing events, a considerable acquaintance with history, and enough of scriptural and etymological science, to impart a peculiar force and power to his expositions of prophecy. He did not pretend to be inspired, but simply to interpret prophecy by the light of history.

            We have been induced to recur to the learned expositions of this individual at present because in the recent and present position of Rome, it must be confessed that his interpretations appear to be very strikingly verified. At that time the Pope was an exile, and people were generally expecting that the Popedom would be overturned entirely. The Doctor said this was impossible, because it was predicted in some chapter in Revelation, to which he referred, that Rome and the Papacy would perish together, and the Doctor maintained that the inhabitants of Rome had not within themselves sufficient power of resistance to cause the entire destruction of the city in repelling the French arms. He very clearly and positively maintained that the French would not only take, but would occupy Rome for some time—it might be for some years; that the Pope would be recalled to Rome, and that at length the destruction of the city, as well as of the Papacy would be effected, by an attempt on the part of the Austrians to dislodge the French from the city, leading to a fearful collision between those great powers, of which Rome would be the theatre, and which would terminate at last in the expulsion of the French forces entirely and the utter overthrow of the city. In this struggle, said Dr. Thomas, Austria was to be backed by Russia, and latterly Russia was to take the lead in the movement, and after arraying the absolute powers of Europe against France and crushing that republic, —after doing all this, even the northern Autocrat himself was to be defeated at last in a struggle with Great Britain, while marching through the heart of Turkey to invade our Indian Empire. (This is not stated so precisely as we affirmed it. It should read, “in a struggle with Great Britain by the Lord from heaven unexpectedly and suddenly revealed while he is combating in the heart of Turkey on his march against the British empire in the east.”—Editor Herald.)

            There was something so exceedingly plausible in this prospectus of possible future events, that it struck us at the time as worthy of notice in these columns, and accordingly we ventured to give our readers a sketch of the Doctor’s prophetic vision and the interpretation thereof. We did not expect, however, that the course of European events, up to the present time, would have so fully justified the Doctor’s prophetic sagacity. Whether his wisdom lay in his long beard we know not, but it is beyond dispute—and we strongly recommend the fact to Mr. William Kidston’s notice—that everything has happened precisely as Dr. Thomas foretold in 1849. The French took Rome without utterly destroying it; they occupy the city to this day; the Pope was brought back and has been making himself greater than ever; he is now heartily tired of the presence of his French friends, and has strongly recommended that they should withdraw from Rome, and allow the Austrians, on whom he places greater reliance, to occupy the city in their stead. Lastly, by the latest accounts, Austrian troops have actually advanced into the Papal States; it is strongly surmised that they have done so on the invitation of the Pope, and without the consent of the French. We leave our readers to judge what the consequences may be, and to place as much or as little faith as they like, or as future events may seem to justify, in Dr. Thomas’ beard. Perhaps if the expected or predicted collision should occur soon, the Pope may disappear from the horizon altogether, and the Papal Aggression Bill may become a superfluous measure, even before it passes through Parliament. Judging from its present rate of progress, of which it may be said that—

“Even in its very motion there seems rest”—this is by no means unlikely.