It commences with a prayer very little different from the Roman liturgy; then the same psalm "Judica me," the introit, the "Gloria in Excelsis," a lesson from the Old Testament, then the gradual and epistle. The prayers of the offertory are almost identical with those of the Roman liturgy; then follow prayers like the Greek and Milanese liturgies; then the preface. But the canon of the mass is different; the trisagion is followed immediately by the consecration, and the credo is said at the "elevation." The host is divided into two parts; the priest then divides one part into five, and the other into four small bits; places them upon the paten, upon which is engraved a cross composed of seven circles, so that seven pieces of the host are placed in the seven circles. He then places (on the right) at the side of the cross upon the paten, the other two parts; each of these nine parts has a name corresponding to a mystery in the life of Christ, and they form, placed upon the paten the following figures,
| Incarnation | Passion |
| Nativity | Death |
| Circumcision | Resurrection |
| Epiphany | Ascension |
After this division, follows the "Pater," a prayer for the afflicted, for prisoners, the sick and the dead. The priest then takes a particle of the host corresponding to the words, "Eternal Kingdom," and lets it fall into the chalice, pronouncing the appropriate words; then he blesses the people, and communicates; then the particle of the host corresponding to the word "Ascension," recites a prayer for the dead, says the "Domine, non sum dignus," and communicates with the particle of the host just mentioned, and so successively with all the others; empties the chalice, takes the ablutions, says the post-communion, the "Salva Regina," blesses the people, and leaves the altar.
Over the altar of the Muzarabic chapel is a picture of the taking of Oran, (in Africa,) which Ximenes conquered at his own risk and his own expense, and made a gift of it to the crown of Spain.
Opposite the cathedral is the archbishop's palace, where is a library open to the public, and adjoining this is the "Casa del Ayuntamiento," house of the municipality, built by Del Greco, a Greek who came to Toledo in 1577, where he became famous as painter and architect.
We now travel through the narrow, precipitous streets, visiting curious and beautiful architectural remains of the Gothic and Moorish times, found in public and private buildings, strange projecting door-posts, with cannon-ball ornaments; traverse the "Zocodover," the market square, which is most Moorish looking, with irregular windows and balconies, and is as well the fashionable promenade, and lounging place as place of traffic. Among the many churches, two are especially interesting in arabesque remains—St. Maria de la Blanca and El Transitu, built in 1326, which were once synagogues; the latter was afterward given by Queen Isabella to the order of Calatrava.
Next to the cathedral in interest is the church of St. Juan de los Reyes, (St. John of the Kings,) St. John being the special patron of the kings of Spain. This was built by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1496, in thanksgiving for the victory of Toro, where they defeated the king of Portugal, who had set up a rival to the throne of Castile, in the person of Jeanne Beltranea, the natural daughter of Jeanne of Portugal, wife of Henry II., the elder brother of Isabella. Upon the outside walls of this church hang the chains taken off the Christians found in captivity in Granada. The interior has been much changed; but there still remain the high tribunes used by the royal family, and much of the curious and elaborate carving, whose richness was once past all description. The cloisters of the adjoining convent of Franciscans, now in ruins, were once one of the most splendid specimens of florid Gothic art in the world. The fine pointed arches and delicate arabesque carvings are now half covered by passion-vine and ivy, and the pretty garden is a desert wild. In this convent the great Cardinal Ximenes made his novitiate as a Franciscan monk, from which retirement he was called, by Cardinal Mendoza, to be the confessor of Queen Isabella; and this wonderful woman, who had the discernment to know and choose men who could aid her in her great designs, when Mendoza died, named as successor to the "great cardinal" the poor monk Francis Ximenes, who became at one time bishop of Toledo, primate of Spain, and grand chancellor of Castile; and though, in this position, the first personage of the court, and the greatest grandee of the kingdom, he still retained the simple habits of the Franciscan; and it was necessary to have an order from the pope to induce him to assume the appendages belonging to his rank. Indeed, it is said that under his robes of silk and velvet he wore the "cilice" and the coarse brown habit of his order; and after his death was found the little box with the needles and thread with which the great primate of Spain mended his own garments. He concluded the treaties which made Spain at this time the greatest power of the world; and it is wonderful how this man, already old—for he was sixty when he assumed the primacy—how he could at once attend to the various and multiplied duties of which he is said never to have neglected anything. He lived in the age of great men, of Mendoza, (el gran cardinal,) of Gonzales de Cordova, (el gran capitan,) of Christopher Columbus, and many others, and took part in all the great events of this great age. Immediately upon the invention of printing, he had printed the celebrated polyglot Bible of Alcala, which cost him 500,000 francs of our money, and was in itself enough to immortalize him. He founded universities, built colleges, endowed professorships and scholarships, and built convents and schools for the education of poor children. Raumer, in his History of Europe, says of him, "His sagacity and his activity were equal to his sanctity. Embracing all the branches of administration, nourishing the grandest plans and projects, he neglected for these neither piety nor science. As a warrior, he commanded in 1509 the crusade which made a descent in Africa, and conquered Oran. He founded, upon principles which do honor to his intelligence, the university of Alcala, and directed the printing of the celebrated Bible to which this city gives its name. He is the only man admired by his contemporaries as a politician, a warrior, and a saint at the same time."
From the esplanade in front of the church of St. Juan de los Reyes is a fine view. The great manufactory of the "Toledo blades" lies below upon the wild and melancholy Tagus, which winds through the plain; beyond are the mountains. The bridge of St. Martin spans the Tagus on one side, with its Moorish towers at either end. The tower of Cambron, one of the great Moorish towers, is in front, in which is a lovely statue of St. Leocadia, and near the bridge of St. Martin, on the city side, is the site of the palace of the Gothic kings. Here are some arches of a ruin called "Los Vaños de Florinda"—she who was the daughter of the apostate Don Julian, and with whose unhappy fate is involved that of the last of the Gothic kings.
The Alcazar, which overlooks the whole city, was a Moorish palace, then a fortress, with additions made by Alonzo VI., in 1085. Improved by Don Alvarado de Luna, and then by Charles V. in 1548, and by Philip II.'s great architect, Herara, there only remains the great patio, with its fine columns and the magnificent staircase for which Philip sent directions from England. Burned in the war of the succession, it was repaired by Cardinal Lorenzana, a munificent patron of arts, and whose whole life was devoted to good works, who made it a silk factory for poor girls. The French injured it again in 1809, and it has been a ruin until now, when some repairs seem to be going on by order of the queen.