The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1866-10-17

to enable the employees 10 get over the
extra labor of Sunday.
In the afternoon went to the Scotch
chapel, and heard very good sermon
very badly delivered, to an audience of
exactly twenty-three people, being about
third the size of the audience of the
morning.
Not having seen any of the other Pro-
testant places of worship | cannot speak of
them, but there was something gmelancholy
to me in these, there was such a snubbed,
apologetic aspect in their position and
surroundings, as if they only asked and
obtained leave to exist. The Romish
churches we're easily found, and open to
the street, inviting the passer-by to turn
in and engage in their worship. But
these were up stairs, out of the way,
small, and uninviting, and both services
interrupted by Romisb service; the Wes-
leyan, by bell ringing in church oppo-
site, and the Scotch, by music below, for
it is only an upstairs chapelin Romish
church Il think that has been hired for
this purpose, while the main part of the
building below is used for the other SER
vice, the powerful organ almost making
the preachers voice inaudible at times.
Professionalism in France seems to me
to be very feeble affair, and likely to be
so. The French. Protestant Church is a
mere hollow she'll of Rationalism, nearly
all the pastors having lately refused by a
formal vote to declare their belief in the
historic verify of the resurrection of
Christ, the fundamental fact of Christi
anity. A Church which thus avows its
unbelief in the very basis of Christiani-
ty, can do but little with any people, and
that little perhaps had better not be done
at all. The likelihood of the foreign
Protestant Church doing any thing may
be inferred from what [ have said al
ready. They do not seem fully to reach
the foreign element in Paris, fact, how
ever, at which one cannot be surprised,
when it is remembered how many antag-
onizing influences are at work there. [
do not then see much light on the religi-
Gus future of France.
The next Sunday | spent in Antwerp.
In the morning we were attracted by a
crowd of people in small room near the
hotel and found splendid shrine of the
Virgin, with the richest decorations, and
over the door the announcement Of full
forgiveness, / suppose to all who sought.
it there. All day long this place seemed
to be crowded with people, eager to OBJ
tain the complete pardon that was promis-
ed them there, and it was just so to-day.
1t was mournful sight, the gaudy and
glittering image, the kneeling crowds, and
the aspect of idolatry that the whole
thing presented, combined with its utter
hollowness to excite melancholy redec-
ton in thinking mind.
At 10 clock we attended high saasa
in the cathedral You have been in Ant
werp, but as the readers Of the Central
have not generally, | VIII say word
about the building. 1t is one of the
finest, in some respects, in Northern Eu.
rope. 1t will give some notion of its
size when [ say that it is four times as
wide and five times as large as your
church, that is, twenty churches the size
of yours could be built inside of it and
still leave room to move about. The
steeple is very celebrated one, and its
height may be imagined when / tell you
that if the spire of my church were
placed on the top of that of st. Pauls,
the two combined would not reach, by
some ten or fifteen feet, the height of
this one. A view of fifty miles in extent
is afforded from it. 1t has a very fine
chime of nearly one hundred bells, one
of which had the honor of having the
Emperor Charles V. as its godfather
when it was baptized, but it is rarely
used, as it requires sixteen men to ring
it. The steeple is one of the most ex-
quisite structures of the kind in the
world. Charles " said it deserved to
be kept under glass case, and Napoleon
compared it to Mechlin lace, so elaborate
is its carving The clock in it is con-
structed so as to chime sweetly every
hour, and sweeter every quarter of an
hour, and strike every five minutes.
There is something very sweet in the
sound of these chimes floating down from
this vast height on the busy scenes of
the city below, and calling the thoughts
upward every hour of the day and
night. But one soon ceases to notice
them, as unhappily our poor fallen nature
does every summons to look away from
earth to heaven.
On entering the church, the scene was
a very striking one. The vast interior
of the cathedral, with its long nave, and
its three pillared aisles on each side, was
filled with people, nearly all of whom
were standing, and stood during the en-
tire service. The choir presented a very
spectacle. In the rear, be-
hind the great altar, was Ruben's great
picture of the Assumption of the Virgin.
On the altar itself were number of tall,
wax tapers burning and all the glittering
garniture that the Romish Church lavish
es on its sacred utensils and furniture
In front of the chancel there hung sus-
pended from the lofty ceiling a crucifx
some twelve feet in length The stalls
on each side of the choir were very splen-
did. They reminded me of the back of
your pulpit, being tall, Gothic pima
Gle, in which was the central seat, with
nine seats on each side, and the whole
carved in the most exquisite and elabo-
rate manner, with tabernacle work, foli-