a pageant; the splendid robe of the
officiating priest, changed in the course of the offices, like the
costumes of actors in a drama; the music, to Protestant ears operatic
and exciting; the clouds of incense that scatter their intoxicating
perfumes; the chants in a strange tongue, unknown to the mass of
worshippers;--all these give the services a holiday and carnival
character.[22]

Far be it from us to charge these congregations with any undue levity;
many a lovely Creole kneels upon the marble floor, entirely estranged
from the brilliant groups around her, and unconscious for the time of
the admiration she excites; many a _caballero_ bows in reverence,
forgetful, for the time being, of the bright eyes that are too often the
load-star of attraction to the church; and there are very many who look
beyond the glittering symbols to the great truths and the great Being
they are intended to typify. But we fear that a large portion of the
community who thus worship, attach more importance to the representation
than to the principles or things represented. The impression made by the
Sabbath ceremonies of the church strikes us as evanescent, and as of
such a character as to be at once obliterated by the excitement of the
worldly pleasures that follow. Still, if the Sabbath in Catholic
countries be not wholly devoted to religious observances, neither are
the week days wholly absorbed by business and pleasure. The churches and
chapels 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 with the tumult outside.

Within its venerable walls the light seems chastened as it falls through
storied panes, and paints the images of Christian saints and martyrs on
the cold pavement of the aisles. Who can tell how many a tempest-tossed
soul has found relief and strength from the ability to withdraw itself
at once from the intoxicating whirl of the world and expand in prayer in
one of these hospitable and ever open sanctuaries? The writer is a firm
Protestant, by education, by association and feeling, but he is not so
bigoted as not to see features in the Catholic system worthy of
commendation. Whether the Catholic church has accomplished its mission,
and exhausted its means of good, is a ques