What I observed was amply confirmed by the information which I sought on the subject. The people were indifferent, and even a large portion of the clergy were apathetic. Great Catholic demonstrations there were in abundance, but little importance can be attached to such manifestations. In the great procession of the Fête-Dieu at Louvain I knew there were hundreds taking part who were mere nominal Catholics; and other extraordinary religious displays, such as the procession of the miraculous statue at Hasselt, were largely supported by the Liberal municipality and hotel keepers from purely material motives. Little can, therefore, be inferred from statistics or from external pageantry. The fidelity of the people must be tested, as in France, by their obedience to the grave obligations of the Church. Under such a test the Catholicism of Belgium is not found to be very deep or substantial: one may confidently predict, although the wisdom of uniting religious and political issues may be called in question, a steady growth of the anti-clerical party.
