"Over the waiting congregation rolled the burdened tones of the great , and the sweet voices of the boy-choristers alternated with the monotonous chanting of the s. Three times through the s defiled the long procession, with the sacred images, and the , and the bags of money for the poor. The donned his wealthiest robes in acknowledgment of the presence of the ; the more stately s paraded their purple coats and their gold-studded canes, and quickened the circulation of the inquisitive crowd stopping to gaze at the crimson dais. Finally a great hush breathed into the room of the music and the chanting; a thousand eyes turned toward the pulpit that faced the oaken , and—as if evoked by the spell of their expectancy—the preacher arose in his place and announced his theme."