nsequence of the distracted state of the country.
Nothing particular worth relating occurred during the journey, which
occupied a day and a half, though the distance is barely ten leagues.
Santiago, or Saint James, is, as you are aware, the capital of Galicia,
and the residence of the Metropolitan. It is, or was, the most
celebrated resort for pilgrims in the whole world, with the exception of
Jerusalem, as it is said to contain the bones of Saint James the Elder,
the Child of the Thunder, who according to the legend of the Roman Church
first preached the Gospel in Spain. The cathedral, though built at
various periods and by no means uniform, is a majestic, venerable
edifice, in every respect calculated to excite awe and admiration; indeed
it is almost impossible to walk its long dusky aisles and hear the solemn
music and the noble chanting and inhale the incense of the mighty
censers, which are at times swung so high by machinery that they smite
the vaulted roof, whilst gigantic tapers glitter here and there amongst
the gloom from the shrine of many a saint, before which the worshippers
are kneeling, breathing forth their prayers and petitions for help, love,
and mercy, and entertain a doubt that we are treading the floor of a
house where God delighteth to dwell. Yet the Lord is distant from that
house. He heareth not, He seeth not: or, if He hear and see, it is with
anger. What availeth that solemn music, that noble chanting, that
incense of sweet savour? What availeth kneeling before that grand altar
of silver, surmounted by that figure with its silver hat and breastplate,
the emblem of one who, although an Apostle and Confessor, was at best an
unprofitable servant? What availeth hoping for remission of sin by
trusting in the merits of him who possessed none, or by paying homage to
others who were born and nurtured in sin, and who alone by the exercise
of a lively faith granted from above could hope to preserve themselves
from the wrath of the Almighty? Yet such acts and formalities constitute
what is termed religion at Compostella, where, perhaps, God and His will
are less known and respected than at Pekin or amid the wildernesses where
graze the coursers of the Mongol and the Mandchou. Perhaps there is no
part of Spain where the Romish religion is so cherished as throughout
Galicia. In no part of Spain are the precepts and ordinances of that
Church, especially fasting and confession, so strictly observed, an