t by the study of his grave and
simple life. He had not the turbulent piety of the other two, but a calm
and sweet devotion, which led him to spend long hours in church,
meditating. He, at any rate, felt all that he expressed.

I do not know a church that gives the religious sentiment more
completely than Seville Cathedral. The worship of the Spaniards is
sombre, full-blooded, a thing of dark rich colours; it requires the
heaviness of incense and that overloading of rococo decoration. It is
curious that notwithstanding their extreme similarity to the
Neapolitans, the Andalusians should in their faith differ so entirely.
Of course, in Southern Italy religion is as full of superstition--an
adoration of images in which all symbolism is lost and only the gross
idol remains; but it is a gayer and a lighter thing than in Spain. Most
characteristic of this is the difference between the churches; and with
_Santa Maria de la Sede_ may well be contrasted the Neapolitan _Santa
Chiara_, with its great windows, so airy and spacious, sparkling with
white and gold. The paintings are almost frolicsome. It is like a
ballroom, a typical place of worship for a generation that had no desire
to pray, but strutted in gaudy silks and ogled over pretty fans,
pretending to discuss the latest audacity of Monsieur Arouet de
Voltaire.

XXI

[Sidenote: The Hospital of Charity]

The Spaniards possess to the fullest degree the art of evoking devout
emotions, and in their various churches may be experienced every phase
of religious feeling. After the majestic size and the solemn mystery of
the Cathedral, nothing can come as a greater contrast than the Church of
the Hermandad de la Caredad. It was built by don Miguel de Manara, who
rests in the chancel, with the inscription over him: '_Aqui jacen los
huesos y cenizas del peor hombre que ha habido en el mundo; ruegan por
el_'--'Here lie the bones and ashes of the worst man that has ever been
in the world; pray for him.' But like all Andalusians he was a braggart;
for a love of chocolate, which appears to have been his besetting sin,
is insufficient foundation for such a vaunt: a vice of that order is
adequately punished by the corpulence it must occasion. However, legend,
representing don Miguel as the most dissolute of libertines, is more
friendly. The grave sister who escorts the visitor relates that one day
in church don Miguel saw a beautiful nun, and undaunted by her habit,
made amorou