Page:Dr Stiggins, His Views and Principles.pdf/30

 glories of knights and nobles and kings still linger, I am afraid, in the minds of the people; those great decorated rubbish heaps called cathedrals still cumber the land, witnesses to the hypocrisy and superstition and wastefulness of the past; and cunning bigoted priests such as Francis of Sales and Fénelon, with hysterical women of doubtful character like Joan of Arc, still have their deluded votaries. England, certainly, has many blessings—at the present moment her destinies are practically guided by our good friend Dr. Clifford, and a Sunday afternoon in London is always a cheering and a helpful spectacle—but how much of what I have said of France applies to our own country! We, too, have our wretched traditions of kings, and knights, and "saints," we too have our cathedrals and our churches, survivals from a Reformation that was far too lax in its work, and I am afraid I must add, we have a sovereign who countenances that awful institution called the Turf. No; it is in America alone that one may