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EUROPEAN OBSERVATIONS. 235
ethihe ? In his hand he holds a long instrument, which
some may deem a weapon; and round his left arm is a
‘band, seemingly a badge of authority. How black and
long the hair that falls without a wave down upon’ his
shoulders! He is from the far, far West. . Perhaps his
home has ‘been where the Rocky Mountains fling their
huge shadow as the sun disappeais behind them, while
their peaks fle like meteors in the sky. What leads
him hither ?—-why-leaves he his hunting-grounds to come
to this European city ?—from the plain that quakes be-
neath the quick tramp of the buffalo to where the gentle
fbotfall of the pleasure-seeker is mingled with the meas-
ured tread of well-disciplined European soldiery ?
What a glorious day ! How bright the sky—and the
atmosphere how clear and__transparent ! Even the fine
taper points of the lightning conductors, with which every
house is furnished, -are distinctly visible from afar. How
that golden cross shines above the house-tops, looking
more like a sign from heaven than a thing of bronze
placed there by a mechanic’s hands! The edifice over
which it rises was once a church, but is so no longer.
Let us enter there. It is already well filled with people;
in the body of the building are men only, among whom
I