THE CLERGY. 105 



splendour of the church; but to English 

 eyes, the peculiar mixture of religious cere- 

 mony and grotesque mummery, does not 

 seem in accordance: and I believe it would 

 puzzle even a Roman Catholic to prove the 

 congruity of birds, beasts, and fishes, w^ith 

 altars and the Host. The capital is at pre- 

 sent full of priests, monks, and clergy in ge- 

 neral, as a law of the government has abo- 

 lished all monasteries which did not contain 

 a certain number, and compelled their occu- 

 pants to reside in Bogota. This stroke of 

 policy is well devised, as it brings the whole 

 clerical body to one focus, and so complete- 

 ly beneath the eye of the government, that 

 all plots or conspiracy, which the majority 

 might be tempted to concert, are easily de- 

 tected. The body of the church, in gene- 

 ral, are attached to the Spaniards, but have 

 sufficient tact and prudence to keep quiet, 

 where resistance and opposition would be 

 fruitless. They brood over their wishes in 



