AStutelary
sa in t; and cold-hearted must that
man be, who would wish to deprive them
of it.
To those persons who have only attended
high mass in great cities, or in the chapels
of catholic ambassadors, perhaps the fol->
lowing account of the Sunday’s service
in the village churches in the valleys
of Savoy, may not prove uninteresting:
indeed we found the service at Duing more
rational and better adapted to the capacities
of the hearers than we had expected.
Though the mass, as is well known, is
always performed in Latin, yet the sermon,
and the exercises in the catechism, were
all in the French language, and were made
as intelligible and interesting as the subjects
could possibly admit of. We remarked,
that most of the congregation, though very
poor, were able to read, and made use of
French prayer-books.
The men stood near the altar, and assisted
in chaunting and other pans of the
service; the women sat on benches in the
middle of the church. They had all an appearance
of great seriousness and devotion.
In the front of the gallery were a few venera-
blelooking oldmen, whosefine countenances
rwould
have made an admirable group for the
pencil of Raphael. After certain prayers
and chaunting, the priest delivered a sermon
from the pulpit in a familiar style, suited
to the capacities and circumstances of his
auditors. Sometimes the service was varied
by a procession before the sermon ; for beside
the more solemn and public processions
on grand fête days, there are frequently minor
processions on the Sundays, which are
confined to the precincts of the church-yard.
A number of persons in the congregation,
of both sexes, devote themselves to assist
in all the processions, and have a peculiar
dress for the purpose. These dresses they
bring with them to the church, tied in a
bundle, and in the middle of the service
they put them on, and each one takes a
lighted taper ; they then" march out, two-
and-two, singing, and are followed by the
priest and congregation. After making one
or more détours round the church yard,
they re-enter the church, and the regular
service of the day goes on. These minor
processions are probably intended to give
interest and variety to the worship ; they
must, at least, have the good eifect of keeping
the people awake. For this purpose,
G 3
lif
■m\
r'- \
t ii
r ■n