The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

472 INFLUENCE OF POPERY ON NATIONS.occupied as usual.In the forenoon a thin congregation assemblesin the venerable aisles of Notre Dame, or in the moregorgeous temple of the Madeline. The worship consists ofgenufluxions, incensings, chantings, and other pagan mummeries,but has no reference to the verities of an eternalworld. That ouvrier and that young woman, as they worshipon bended knee an image or a Madonna, seem the verypicture of devotion ;but follow them in the evening to Franconi"'scircus, or to the dancing garden, and see how littlethey have profited by the morning''s devotions. At that altarthe Bible is never opened. Beneath that roof God'smessage of love is never proclaimed. In the city around, amillion of men, with a few exceptions, are living in the gi'ossnessof superstition and vice, but no voice cries " Deliverfrom going down to the pit." The priests have taken awaythe key of knowledge ; they enter not in themselves ; andthem that were entering in they hindered. At an early hourin the afternoon business is suspended, and pleasure takes itsplace. Then, indeed, does Paris rejoice. A gay stream ofvehicles, equestrians, and pedestrians, pours along the Boulevards.Others hasten to the Jardin des Plantes, or to theChamps d''Elysee^ where mountebank shows, and all kinds ofgames and amusements, are going on. Others assembleround the tea-tables in the gardens of the Palais Royale^ orsaunter in those of the Tuileries.All the theatres in the citvare open, and are better attended on that evening than onany of the previous six. The saloons are brilliantly illuminated.Omnibuses and vehicles of all kinds thunder alongthe Rue St Honore and the Rue St Antoine, filled with halfinebriatedpassengers, who shout or sing in their boisterousefforts to be merry.It is remarkable enough, that what certainparties in this country confidently and urgently recommendas an effectual preservative against drunkenness shouldin France be a main provocative of that vice.There is morewine and spirits drank in Paris on that day than on anythree of the other days of the week.We must not suppose that it is only in the cities of the