ries are the women, who, with their treble
voices, augment the solemn chant that vibrates on the air.

Repentance, fear, self-reproach have blanched the cheeks and dimmed the
eyes of the devotees. Fervent and sincere are the prayers that rise to
the throne of God; contrite and remorseful are the blows with which the
men beat their breasts and with which they seek to chasten their
sin-encrusted hearts.

Fearfully and tearfully they make the sorrowful avowal: "We have
sinned!" Down into the depths of his soul does each one search to render
to himself and to God a truthful account of the deeds and thoughts that
lie hidden there. And above the din, the voice of the reader is heard,
beseeching forgiveness for the repentant congregation, pleading for the
grace of the Lord and asking to be enrolled in the book of life and
happiness. It is a solemn, heart-stirring spectacle, moving the soul of
the sinner with a mighty force. An observer, who for the first time
attends the _Yom-Kipur_ services, can arrive at but one verdict
concerning the beauty of the religion which has instituted this holy
day.

The heathen is impressed with the fact that in doing wrong he has
offended a god whom, by means of sacrifice, he seeks to propitiate. The
Christian proclaims that he sins by compulsion in consequence of the
original fall of Adam, and, as he is not a free agent in the matter of
right or wrong, he can expect grace only through the mediation of his
Saviour. The Jew recognizes the fact that he is entirely free to sin or
to remain pure, and that, having erred, he can only hope for forgiveness
by acknowledging his error, by purifying himself from all that is vile
and by a sincere resolution to do better. Mere faith has never played
the important part in the Jewish religion that is assigned it in that of
the gentiles. The Israelite believes that if he has done wrong and
sincerely repents and by his subsequent actions seeks to repair the
injury, divine forgiveness will not be withheld; but the dogma that
belief independent of good deeds purifies the heart has never found
favor in his eyes.

The worshippers stayed until a late hour, and many of them remained in
the synagogue all night. Early dawn found the congregation again at its
post, as devout, as fervent as before. The candles were burning low in
their sockets, casting a fitful glare upon the pale faces of the
worshippers, reminding them of the flight of time, of the brevity of
life,