"Jesus Christ came down, From Heaven to Bethlehem; There, our Peace was born, Our Felicity, Light, and Good. Oh, blessed be God! Thanks be unto Thee, Lord, For Jesus the Saviour."
This hymn was set to a lively tune, and sung in marked, quick time, with great spirit and animation. In the evening Mr. Müller preached again at the same Church to a large, attentive audience.
On Dec. 30th we walked out with Mr. Gulick, who conducted us to one of the _two_ Cathedrals in Saragossa--the only city in Spain which has two Cathedral Churches. The architecture is Moorish, and some sculpture on the walls represents the martyrdom of a few of the early Christians, and that of St. Lawrence in particular, who, in the 4th century, was roasted to death on a gridiron over a slow fire, by the command of one of the Pagan Roman emperors. Though considered a Catholic by the Papists, it is said that he was a true disciple of Christ. Some poor devotees were worshipping at the shrines, to a few of whom we quietly gave Spanish gospel tracts; and a tract was handed also to a gowned individual, a verger or sacristan, with a wand of office, as he slowly wandered up and down the aisles, who looked at us gloomily, but accepted it nevertheless.
Our next visit was to the Cathedral of Nuestra Senora del Pilar, which contains an image of the Virgin and Child on a jasper pedestal, said to have come down direct from Heaven in the 1st century, and to have been brought by the Apostle _James_ to Saragossa! To this image the most extravagant miracles are attributed. Many persons were kissing the pillar and crossing themselves, whilst others, dispersed about the Cathedral, were kneeling on the stone pavement before various images of saints. Whole regiments of soldiers, too, come in to kneel, bow, cross themselves, and perform their devotions before the different shrines. Oh! how responsible are _we_, who possess the pure gospel of the grace of God, to make it known to poor idolators like these. In order to form a correct idea of the degrading superstitions, the debasing idolatry of Popery, there is nothing like _witnessing_ these things in a country such as Spain, where the Roman Catholic religion appears to be of a grosser type than it is in Protestant countries. Our last remaining tract was slipped into the hand of a worshipper, kneeling upon a stone step before an altar.