travagantly. In the
account of the Amende Honorable, a solemn act of profession of
repentance, the following passage occurs:--"He (the missionary) drew an
affecting picture of our unhappy country, oppressed by the burden of
impiety and anarchy. He rapidly enumerated the series of crimes produced
by license and want of faith. He implored the pardon of the most holy
God in the name of all; and he proclaimed in a loud tone of voice,
mutual forgiveness between enemies. All his questions were interrupted
by the tears and sobs of his audience. 'Do you feel contrition and
repentance,' said he, 'for your offences against God?'--'Yes.' 'Do you
ask pardon sincerely?' The congregation again answered 'Yes.' 'Does
every one of you individually pardon his neighbour all the injuries and
offences which he may have received from him?'--'Yes.' 'Do you renounce
all hatred, all enmity, all revenge?'--'Yes.' 'Do you promise God to
live in future as becomes good Christians, in a perfect union and
concord among yourselves?'--'Yes.' 'Do you promise fidelity, respect,
and love, to the monarch who governs France, to the princes of his
blood, and his representatives, and submission to the laws?'--'Yes.' The
pen can but imperfectly describe the effect produced by these questions
of the missionaries, and the answers of the congregation. No countenance
but wore the expression of grief and repentance, no cheek but was wet
with tears. The officiating priest who held the host in his hand, then
pronounced in the name of the God of mercy, his holy pardon; the
Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Te Deum, were thundered forth; and
the festival concluded with the benediction of the host. The innumerable
crowd of individuals present, each holding a lighted taper, presented a
magnificent spectacle." In describing the renewal of the baptismal vow,
the next ceremony which took place, the author says,--"This act was held
in so solemn a manner, that it will remain eternally engraved in the
memory of the Avignonese. A magnificent altar was displayed to the sight
of the faithful: a great number of priests in their sacerdotal habits
encircled this altar, which a thousand tapers and a thousand sacred
objects rendered more dazzling, and the holy sacrament was majestically
exposed on it. After the performance of the anthems appropriate to this
august ceremony, the missionary delivered a discourse, as forcible as
it was sublime, on the object of the festival, which produc