Singular Religious Ceremony In France. 483 



rally, the rest in substance merely : " And now, my brethren, having 

 seen what the cross has done for us, shall we refuse, in our turn, to do 

 something for the cross ? Is there one among this great assembly who 

 will not join his voice with mine in the cry I am about to utter ?" Then 

 pausing for a moment, he suddenly spreads forth his arms upon the 

 air, and screams out, with all the strength (or rather all the feebleness) 

 of his aged voice, " VIVE LA CROIX !" Immediately, the cry is repeated 

 in thunder by the whole assembled multitude, and the very walls of the 

 houses seem to tremble and echo with it. This having been repeated 

 three times at the same signal, the orator continues : " Need I proclaim 

 another cry, that must be at this moment in your hearts and upon your 

 tongues ?" Then, with the same signalizing gestures as before, he cries,, 

 " VIVE JESUS CHRIST V This, like the last, is repeated three times ; 

 and then, at the instigation of the officiating priest, and for reasons simi- 

 lar to those urged in the other cases, it is followed by several more, each 

 repeated with similar vehemence and unanimity namely, " Vive la 

 Foi !" "Vive le Roi !" " Vive le Monseigneur !" (the bishop) and; 

 " Vlvent les Missionaires !" 



Vwats, addressed to, and repeated by, a great popular assembly in the 

 open air, are, with us, attended by associations of such a nature that we 

 have scarcely dared even to write some of the above (and 'owe in parti- 

 cular) for the perusal of our readers ; still less, therefore, do we dare 

 trust ourselves to make any observations upon the manner in which they 

 were employed on the occasion in question, and the motives and objects 

 of so employing them. We shall, therefore, confine ourselves to a brief 

 glance at the conclusion of this most strange, and strangely conducted, 

 ceremony. As soon as the giving forth, and repetition of these watch 

 words was finished, the priest descended from the chair, and the bishop 

 himself took his place there, and addressed a few words to the people; 

 and then the crucifix was elevated as before, to the same words of com- 

 mand, and borne off (preceded by military music !) to the spot where it 

 was to be finally placed : the great non-official body of the procession 

 being previously dismissed at a given signal, as a regiment of soldiers 

 are after a field-day. There was something so literally shocking to 

 Protestant associations in the conclusion of this ceremony, that we shall 

 merely add a few words, so as not to leave our general description incom- 

 plete. In short, the spectacle differed little, in mere external effect, from 

 the actual historical proceeding of which it presented a type ! The figure 

 of the Saviour was so well executed, that it bore that horrid resemblance 

 to actual life which so painfully distinguishes waxwork from sculpture, 

 and which, in fact, sculpture itself would bear, if it were painted to imi- 

 tate life. This, added to the hauling of the naked figure up to the cross 

 by ropes and pullies* the fixing and literally nailing it in its place 

 there and the look and attire of the workmen employed in this mecha- 

 nical part of the operation ; all this produced an effect on the spectator 

 not either easy or fit to be described, but which cannot well be forgotten 

 by any one of them ; an effect, too, which we cannot conceive to have 

 been other than opposite to that which was looked for by the reverend 

 contrivers of the ceremony ; unless, indeed, they can prove an exception, 

 in their particular case, to that truest and most comprehensive of all 

 moral maxims, which inculcates that " EXTREMES MEET !" 



* The cross, destined lo bear the figure permanently, had been previously fixed in its 

 place, at a great height from the ground, against the north side of the cathedral. 



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