excerpt from 'Rambles in Italy; in the years 1816 – 1817 By an American' pp. 231-232 (172 words)
excerpt from 'Rambles in Italy; in the years 1816 – 1817 By an American' pp. 231-232 (172 words)
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[At high mass in a cathedral] A deep and awful silence prevailed for some moments, till the organ rising from a low symphony, and swelling by degrees into full harmony, accompanied by a chorus of angelick voices, seemed to waft the prayers of this multitudinous assembly to heaven. The impression, however, made by this spectacle was not a little impaired by the presence of a military force, stationed ostensibly for the purpose of restraining the press that obstructed the avenues leading to the altar. […] [I]t appeared to me utterly inconsistent with the mild dominion of the crosier. Military hats and plumes intermixed with glittering bayonets, stood above the heads of the people, and after the archbishop had pronounced the benediction, and the crowd was dispersing, the blasts of the trumpet and the roll of the drum, the word of command and the clattering of arms, formed a sequel in my opinion, calculated to unbind the holy spell, under the influence of which the mind was left by the preceding solemnities. |
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