shepherd to whom God has given the keys of heaven, we may merit and obtain an entrance into the church triumphant, by that port whither the holy and secure ship of the apostle, ever living in his successors, is now bearing us. Amen.”
In the midst of controversies such as these, it is vain to look for many followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. The votaries both of superstition and infidelity make their voices to be heard in the streets, but true piety loves the shade, and seeks retirement. It may be that there are those who have not bowed the knee to this two-fold Baal; but if they exist, it is in the secrecy of the closet, and who they are must be left for the day of judgment to declare.
In the absence of better comforters, the lower orders repair at certain seasons, to worship those images which have become celebrated for their miraculous properties. These pilgrimages are often distant, and the journey arduous; but what will not superstition accomplish?
The church of Esquipulas is famous on account of its containing an image of the Saviour crucified, executed in ebony, in 1595, by Cataño, an eminent artist. Its fame for miracles was so great that crowds of pilgrims formerly came from different parts of Mexico, and on the fifteenth of January, its festival, 80,000 people have been known to assemble.
