reole who
has just bent his knee before the altar repairs to the theatre to pass
the evening; and the Cuban goes from the absolution of the priest to
the hurly-burly of the bull-ring or the cock-pit.

The influence of fifteen minutes in the church, if salutary, would
seem to be quickly dissipated by the attraction of the gaming-table
and the masked ball. Even the Sunday ceremonial of the Church is a
pageant: the splendid robes of the officiating priest, changed in the
course of the service like the costume of actors in a drama; the
music, to Protestant ears operatic and exciting; the clouds of incense
scattering their intoxicating perfumes; the chanting in a strange
tongue, unknown to the majority of the worshipers,--all tend to give
the Roman Catholic services a carnival character. Far be it from us,
however, to charge these congregations with an undue levity, or a lack
of sincerity. Many a lovely Creole kneels upon the marble floor
entirely estranged from the brilliant groups around her, and
apparently unconscious for the time of the admiration she excites.
There are many, no doubt, who look beyond the glittering symbols to
the great truths of the Being whom they are intended to typify. The
impression made by the Sabbath ceremonials of the Church strikes us as
evanescent, more pleasing to the fancy than informing to the
understanding. Still, if the Sabbath in Catholic countries is not
wholly devoted to religious observances, neither are the week days
wholly absorbed by business and by careless pleasures. The churches
are always open, silently but eloquently inviting to devotion, and it
is much to be able to step aside at any moment from the temptations,
business, and cares of life into an atmosphere of seclusion and
religion. The solemn quiet of an old cathedral on a week day is
impressive from its very contrast to the tumult outside. Within its
venerable walls the light seems chastened, as it falls through stained
panes and paints the images of Christian saints and martyrs on the
pavement of the aisles. A half unwilling reverence is apt to stimulate
us on such an occasion, however skeptical we may be.

The Sabbath in Havana breaks upon the citizens amid the ringing of
bells, the firing of cannon from the forts, the noise of trumpets, and
the roll of the drum. It is no day of physical rest here, and the
mechanical trades are uninterrupted. It is the chosen period for the
military reviews, the masked ball, and the bu