Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/225

Rh the apostles of Christ, being changed into twelve young priests clothed in white, with very carefully washen feet; of the basin which the Saviour used for the washing, being now transformed into a silver-gilt bowl, which a kneeling priest holds for the use of his Holiness, as well as of the washing, wiping, and kissing of the disciples' feet being as easy and unsubstantial as possible, belongs to the character of this spectacle, which is rather a parody than a picture of its antetype in Jerusalem. The same also was La Cena. Kneeling priests present to the Pope meat, upon a silver dish, which he places upon a table before the guests—who have already satisfied their hunger, but who have permission to take away what they are not able to eat. The countenance of the Pope, during the whole of this ceremony, and his good-humored, kind expression, were admired by all. The Pope's benediction of the people from the balcony of St. Peter's, a scene which I witnessed perfectly, was not without imposing solemnity. But as this ceremony is repeated with greater pomp on Easter Sunday, I shall defer speaking of it till that occasion.

That which I shall never forget, that which I shall always remember as a perception, however fleeting, of heavenly mysteries, too profound and beautiful to be fully comprehended by the earthly mind, or to be retained by a soul attached to the earth, is the Miserere of Thursday, in the Sistine Chapel. I was told that it was by Allegre. What tones, what tones!