320 OUTDOOR STUDIES 
and pointed rocks; and great, indolent waves 
sometimes reared their heads, looking in upon 
our retreat, or flooding the calm pools with a 
surface of creamy effervescence. Every square 
inch of the universe seemed crowded with par- 
ticles of summer. 
On our way past the church, we had caught 
a glimpse of unwonted black smallclothes, and 
slyly peeping into a little chapel, had seen the 
august Senate of Horta apparently arraying 
itself for the ceremony. Presently out came a 
man with a great Portuguese flag, and then the 
senators, two and two, with short black cloaks, 
white bands, and gold-tipped staves, trod state- 
lily towards the church. And as we approached 
the door, on our return, we saw these dignita- 
ries sitting in their great armchairs, as one 
might fancy Venetian potentates, while a sono- 
rous Portuguese sermon rolled over their heads 
as innocuously as a Thanksgiving discourse 
over any New England congregation. 
Do not imagine, by the way, that critical re- 
marks on sermons are a monopoly of Protest- 
antism. After one religious service in Fayal, 
my friend, the Professor of Languages, who 
sometimes gave lessons in English, remarked 
to me confidentially, in my own tongue, “ His 
sermon is good, but his exposition is bad; he 
does not expose well.” Supposing him to refer 
