he day with undiminished pleasure. In our
way we fell in with a procession of children, the eldest of whom could
not be more than seven years of age, in pairs, and with lighted candles
in their hands, escorting a cross of lath and a very indifferent daub,
which represented some female saint, and screaming in chorus with all
their might. Those who had no candles, ran about with little dishes,
vociferously begging money to buy some; and in spite of the respect with
which one would wish to consider whatever fellow Christians choose to
denominate, in pure earnest, a religious ceremony, it was impossible not
to be reminded, by the petitions of these sucking Catholics, of Guy
Fawkes's little votaries on the fifth of November. We thought
involuntarily of a boy who had followed us that very morning into the
church of St. Didier, tossing a ball in his hand, and after crossing
himself with great gravity, immediately began his game again. Whether
the interests of religion gain or suffer most by the familiarity with
the ordinary business of life which it assumes in Catholic countries, is
a point which I cannot presume to determine. It is true, that it may
frequently occasion such ridiculous scenes as those which I have
mentioned; and our habits of mind, as Protestants, may lead us to
conceive that such familiarity may tend to generate levity and
indifference. On the other hand, however, amidst all the mummery which
may mix itself up with the occasional ceremonies of the Catholic
service, there is much worthy of commendation in the more common
ordinances, to which alone a sensible Catholic must look for religious
improvement. I particularly allude to the shortness and frequent
recurrence of the mass (such as it is), and the constant access afforded
to Catholic churches, in which some service or other appears to be
carried on during great part of the day. These regulations are well
adapted to take advantage of those serious trains of thought which often
arise most forcibly at accidental times, and from unpremeditated causes.
The attention is thus excited without being fatigued, and the privacy of
the closet is combined with that solemnity which attaches itself to the
house of God. It may be said, indeed, that to consult the caprices and
associations of the human mind, is to lower the dignity of religion; but
surely a good end must justify any means which are not in themselves
culpable or ridiculous. The mechanic, for instance, in retur