THE CHTTHCH AND ITS CEREMONIES. 157 



kneeling uncovered during i's elevation in church, was the occasion of daily difficulties between 

 foreign unbelieving wiilnrs and faithful natives. Finally, the government found it necessary to 

 prohibit these outward demonstrations at the port ; but they still continue at the capital and 

 eUewhere in the repul>l ic, and the few outside barbarians whom business has attracted else- 

 \\heiv liave ileeined it wiser to follow the custom, so far as pride will permit, rather than risk 

 collision \v itli pe..iis and rotoa, who are the most Incited and likely to resent fancied insult to 

 their religion. On the morning nf tin- Sunday following my arrival, as I issued from the con rt- 

 yanl ! the post-office, a superb carriage drawn by a pair of handsome horses was entering the 

 l>l.i/a, preceded and followed by an armed soldier or two, and a number of other persons, part of 

 whom carried lanterns mounted >n short poles, and the rest had bells. As the populace were 

 kneeling upon the sidewalks of the street through which the procession had just come, and the 

 crowd between the carriage and myself were humbling themselves iu like manner as it ap- 

 proached them, I took it for granted that the very rotund and comfortable-looking gentleman 

 in clerical robes, whom I could perceive occupying a back seat, was none other than the arch- 

 bishop, to whom, as the head of the church, I meant to make such salute in passing as would 

 be rendered to the most distinguished in North America. This appeared not to suit the kneel- 

 ing crowd, each one of whom gave the tails of my coat a tug as I passed, and not a few scowled 

 their blackest, because I neither knelt nor removed my hat to "el majestad," as the consecrated 

 wafer is called. The cortege continued to advance, jingling bells, the postillion constantly 

 repeating "Santo, santo, santo, Dios de los ejercitos; llenos estan los cidos de la majestad de 

 vuestra gloria!" (Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts ! the heavens and the earth are full of the 

 majesty of thy glory) ; to which the lamp-bearers and bell-ringers responded, "Gloria al Padre, 

 y al HijOj y al Espiritu santo!" (Glory to the Father j and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost !) ; 

 but it was " Greek" to me, and I continued on my way ignorantly. Passing the carriage-door 

 I very politely raised my hat, bowing, as I supposed, to the highest dignitary of the church. 

 Put the salute was not returned, except by a stare expressive of astonishment and indignation, 

 so that I concluded the old gentleman was not very courteous. When the hotel was reached, 

 the landlord explained the object of the procession to me, and advised the propriety of turning 

 into a side-street whenever a carriage conveying "the host" should be perceived, else refusal to 

 conform to the custom of the country might one day subject me to personal outrage. So sacredly 

 do the entire population guard the observance of this form, that all the inmates of a parlor will 

 kneel as the Viatico passes in front of the house ; and there is no doubt that they would drop to 

 their knees and beat their breasts in like case, at the moment the tinkle of the bell first 

 struck their ears, even though whirling round in a waltz. On one occasion, when in a garden full 

 a hundred yards from the roati, the lady who was showing me her beautiful flowers all at once 

 stopped, and saying, " I pray you will pardon me whilst I follow the customs of my country," 

 herself and daughter bowed their knees and repeated a prayer for the soul of a departing mortal 

 to whom the sacred wafer was passing. They had detected the tinkle of the bells and the 

 solemn monotony of the cries long before I could have possibly noticed them ; indeed it is quite 

 probable that my ears would not have remarked either at such distance, had not their acts 

 called attention to the sounds. 



If reason be allowed to rule, the ceremony as practised here is the veriest mockery of a 

 religious ordinance. Leaving the question of transubstantiation to be discussed by theologians, 

 and admitting the propriety of such pomps, if the Catholic side of the argument be true, there 

 are circumstances connected with the administration of this sacrament which strongly tend to 

 bring it into disrepute. No sooner is it known that a wealthy person is dangerously ill, than a 

 priest, and sometimes two or three, appears at his house to administer counsel. There they remain 

 to the last, earnestly striving to obtain legacies ; failing in which, they make extortionate demands 

 for the cast-off garments of some reputed holy friar, which are greatly prized for shrouds. Whilst 

 there is a shadow of apology for it, and even after the corpse has been removed to its sepulchre, 

 they remain at the dwelling. On the other hand, if the invalid has the misfortune to be poor, 



