e of the great altar. The manner of the Jesuits is in striking
contrast with that at the Cathedral. All is slow, orderly and
reverential, whether on the part of men or boys. Instead of the hurried
walk, the nod and duck, there is a slow march, a kneeling, or a
reverential bow. At a small side altar, in the sacristy, communion is
administered by a single priest. Among the recipients are several men of
mature years and respectable position; and side by side with them, the
poor and the Negroes. In the Church, there is no distinction of race or
color.

Father---- appears, is unrobed, and takes me to the gallery of the
church, near the organ. From this, I looked down upon a sea of rich
costumes of women, veiled heads, and kneeling figures, literally
covering the floor of the church. On the marble pavement, the little
carpets are spread, and on these, as close as they can sit or kneel, are
the ladies of rank and wealth of Havana. A new-comer glides in among
them seeking room for her carpet, or room of charity or friendship on a
carpet already spread; and the kneelers or sitters move and gather in
their wide skirts to let her pass. Here and there a servant in livery
winds his way behind his mistress, bearing her carpet, and returns to
the porch when it has been spread. The whole floor is left to women. The
men gather about the walls and doorways, or sit in the gallery, which is
reserved for them. But among the women, though chiefly of rank and
wealth, are some who are Negroes, usually distinguished by the plain
shawl, instead of the veil over the head. The Countess Villanueva,
immensely rich, of high rank, and of a name great in the annals of Cuba,
but childless, and blind, and a widow, is lead in by the hand by her
Negro servant. The service of the altar is performed with dignity and
reverence, and the singing, which is by the Jesuit Brothers themselves,
is admirable. In the choir I recognized my new friends, the Rector and
young Father Cabre, the professor of physics. The "Tantum ergo
Sacramentum," which was sung kneeling, brought tears into my eyes, and
kept them there.

After service, Mr.---- came to me, and made an engagement to show me the
benevolent institutions on the Bishop's list, accepting my invitation to
breakfast at Le Grand's, at eleven o'clock. At eleven he came, and after
a quiet breakfast in a side room, we went to the house of Senor----,
whom he well knows, in the hope that he would go with us. The Senor wa