But my friend had many capital
points of character, and I owed much of the pleasure of my visit to
his attentions.
The congregation at the Bishop's church was precisely like one you
would meet in New York, Philadelphia, or Boston. To be sure, the
identity of the service makes one feel at once at home, but the people
were alike, nearly all of the English race, though from all parts of
the Union. The latest French bonnets were at the head of the chief
pews, and business men at the foot. The music was without character,
but there was an instructive sermon, and the church was full.
I found that there were no services at any of the Protestant
churches in the afternoon. They have two services on Sunday; at 11
A. M., and after dark. The afternoon is spent at home, or in
friendly visiting, or teaching of Sunday Schools, or other humane
and social duties.
This is as much the practice with what at home are called the
strictest denominations as with any others. Indeed, I found
individuals, as well as public bodies, affected in a marked degree
by a change of oceans and by California life. One Sunday afternoon I
was surprised at receiving the card of a man whom I had last known,
some fifteen years ago, as a strict and formal deacon of a
Congregational Society in New England.
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