All the personages of the preceding day were present, and the religious services were in nowise different from those of the Catholic Church in other lands, with the exception that, in the reading of the passion, at the words "_gave up the ghost_," all knelt, but did not kiss the ground, as is the custom in France. During the adoration of the cross, in which the captain-general, apparently almost too ill to stand, and the other gentlemen took part, the choir sang the beautiful hymn _Pange lingua_, with its tender burden of _Crux fidelis_. Never did it sound to me more touching. "Sing, O my tongue! the Victor's praise; For him the noblest trophy raise, The victory of his cross proclaim, His glory and his laurelled fame; Sing of his conquests, when he proved The Saviour of the souls he loved. O faithful cross! thou stand'st alone; None like thee in our woods is grown, None can with thy rich growth compare, Or leaves like thine, or flowerets bear. Sweet wood, sweet nails, both sweet and fair, Sweet is the precious weight ye bear." The adoration terminated, the procession was formed, exactly as on the day before, to bring back the Blessed Sacrament from the sepulchre. On reaching the foot of the steps, the captain-general delivered up to the bishop the key he had worn suspended from his neck since the preceding morning. As the procession returned, the noble strains of the _Vexilla regis_ resounded through the great church. "The standard of our King unfurled Proclaims triumphant to the world The cross, where Life would suffer death To gain life with his dying breath!" My heart beat faster as I listened to the glorious hymn! The communion made, vespers were chanted in grave and mournful tones, and the service was concluded. As the bishop descended the nave to leave the cathedral, the little girls of the nuns' schools crowded around him to kiss his hand; and it was very pretty to see them clasp his fingers, and look up in his kind face with a confiding smile. * * * * * As it had been officially announced that the meditation on the seven words of Jesus on the cross, with the ceremony of the descent from the cross, to be followed by the procession of the interment, were to take place, as is usual every year, that afternoon in the church of _San Juan de Dios_, I determined to be present.