se size than
the beauty of the proportion in which it is formed. In spite of all
these circumstances, however, the Cathedral of Notre Dame produces a
deep impression on the mind of the beholder; its towers rise to a
stupendous height above all the buildings which surround them; while
the stone of every other edifice is of a light colour, they alone are
black with the smoke of centuries; and exhibit a venerable aspect of
ancient greatness in the midst of the brilliancy of modern decoration
with which the city abounds. Even the crowd of ornaments with which they
are loaded, and the heavy proportion in which they are built, are
forgotten in the effect which their magnitude produces; they suit the
gloomy character of the building they adorn, and accord with the
expression of antiquated power by which its aged forms are now
distinguished.

To those who have been accustomed to the form of worship which is
established in Protestant countries, there is nothing so striking in the
Catholic churches as the complete oblivion of rank, or any of the
distinctions of established society, which there universally prevails.
There are no divisions of seats, nor any places fixed for any particular
classes of society. All, of whatever rank or station, kneel alike upon
the marble pavement; and the whole extent of the church is open for the
devotion of all classes of the people. You frequently see the poorest
citizens with their children kneeling on the stone close to those of the
highest rank, or the most extensive fortunes. This custom may appear
painful to those who have been habituated to the forms of devotion in
the English churches; but it produces an impression on the mind of the
spectator which nothing in our service is capable of effecting. To see
the individual form lost in the immensity of the objects with which he
is surrounded; to see all ranks and ages blended in the exercise of
common devotion; to see all distinction forgotten in the sense of common
infirmity, suits the spirit of that religion which was addressed to the
poor as well as to the rich, and fits the presence of that Being before
whom all ranks are equal.

Nor is it without a good effect upon the feelings of mankind, that this
custom has formed a part of the Catholic service. Amidst that
degradation of the great body of the people, which marks the greater
part of the Catholic countries--amidst the insolence of aristocratic
power, which the doctrines of the Catholic