The mass begins within a white veil, which conceals the officiating
priest and ministers, and the service proceeds in this manner till
the words “the veil of the temple was rent in twain” are chaunted.
At this moment the veil disappears, as if by enchantment, and the
ears of the congregation are stunned with the noise of concealed
fireworks, which are meant to imitate an earthquake.
The evening service named _Tinieblas_ (darkness) is performed this
day after sunset. The cathedral, on this occasion, exhibits the most
solemn and impressive aspect. The high altar, concealed behind dark
grey curtains which fall from the height of the cornices, is dimly
lighted by six yellow-wax candles, while the gloom of the whole
temple is broken in large masses by wax torches, severally fixed on
each pillar of the centre aisle, at about one-third of its length
from the ground. An elegant candlestick of brass, from fifteen to
twenty feet high, is placed, this and the following evening, between
the choir and the altar, holding thirteen candles, twelve of yellow,
and one of bleached wax, distributed on the two sides of the triangle
which terminates the machine. Each candle stands by a brass figure
of one of the apostles. The white candle occupying the apex, is
allotted to the Virgin Mary. At the conclusion of each of the twelve
psalms appointed for the service, one of the yellow candles is
extinguished, till, the white taper burning alone, it is taken down
and concealed behind the altar. Immediately after the ceremony, the
_Miserere_, as we call the fifty-first psalm, set, every other year,
to a new strain of music, is sung in a grand style. This performance
lasts neither more nor less than one hour. At the conclusion of the
last verse the clergy break up abruptly without the usual blessing,
making a thundering noise by clapping their moveable seats against
the frame of the stalls, or knocking their ponderous _breviaries_
against the boards, as the Rubric directs.