The gilded rafters,
the smooth inlaid marble pillars, the rich hangings of the windows, the
jewelled candlesticks on the altars, the pictures, the statues, the
bronzes, the mosaics, each and all glowed with a steady and luxurious
transparency absolutely intoxicating to the eye. Not a trace of wear,
not a vestige of tarnish now appeared on any object. Each portion of
the nave to which the attention was directed appeared too finely,
spotlessly radiant, ever to have been touched by mortal hands.
Entranced and bewildered, the observation roamed over the surface of the
brilliant scene, until, wearied by the unbroken embellishment of the
prospect, it wandered for repose upon the dimly lighted aisles, and
dwelt with delight upon the soft shadows that hovered about their
distant pillars, and the gliding forms that peopled their dusky
recesses, or loitered past their lofty walls.
At the moment when Numerian entered the basilica, a part of the service
had just concluded. The last faint echo from the voices of the choir
still hung upon the incense-laden air, and the vast masses of the
spectators were still grouped in their listening and various attitudes,
as the devoted reformer looked forth upon the church.
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