Left, which is covered by a slide; this is moved upon one side when
required, and enables the pilgrim to kiss through the hole a piece of
rather brown-looking wood, which is the present exhausted surface of the
effigy.
Although decayed by time and use, the miraculous property remains
unchanged. This was exhibited a few years ago in a remarkable manner,
where a childless lady had become old in barren expectation; but a visit
to Trooditissa produced the desired result, and conferred much happiness
upon the once despairing wife, who now became a mother. In addition to a
monetary offering, this lady had presented the Virgin with a handsome
belt with massive silver-gilt buckles, which she had worn during
pregnancy. This offering is now suspended around the present effigy, and
for a small consideration any lady applicant is allowed to fasten it
round her waist. The effect is infallible, and quite equals that of the
rock and silver Virgin. This remarkable inductive power may perhaps be
some day explained by philosophers, but it is now exceedingly dangerous,
and unfortunate results have occurred, when in a sudden impulse of
devotion young maidens have kissed the rock entrance to the cave, or
imprudently pressed their lips upon the sacred effigy.
During my sojourn at Trooditissa no arrivals of despairing wives
occurred, but in the exhausted conditions of the finance throughout the
island, it would have been the height of folly to have desired an
increase of family, and thereby multiply expenses; possibly the
uncertainty respecting the permanence of the English occupation may
deter the ladies, who may postpone their pilgrimage to the monastery
until their offspring should be born with the rights of British
subjects.
I have described the origin of the ecclesiastical retreat at Trooditissa
as nearly as possible according to the viva-voce history related by the
monks. It is impossible to gauge the opinions of the world, as
individuals differ as much in nervous structure and in theological
creeds as they do in personal appearance; some may accept the monks'
belief implicitly, while others may suggest that the original occupant
of the cave was some unknown hermit secluded from the world, whose
solitary lamp burning before the Virgin had attracted the attention of
the shepherds from the mountain opposite. The old man may have fallen
down a precipice and died, leaving his lamp still alight; but it would
be unfair to interfere with the original legend, which must remain with
the usual clouds and uncertainties that obscure the tales of centuries.
About 250 feet above the monastery the ridge of a spur afforded a level
space beneath some tall pines which threw a welcome shade, and would
have been a convenient camping-ground.
