These
Females Are Devoted Romanists, As Will Be Seen From The Following
Description Of A Feast Held To St. John:
"Dona Juana's first care was to decorate with uncommon splendor a
large image of St. John, which, in a costly crystal box, she
preserved as the chief ornament of her principal drawing-room.
He was
painted anew and re-gilded. He had a black velvet robe purchased for
him, and trimmed with deep gold lace. Hovering over him was a cherub.
Every friend of Dona Juana had lent some part of her jewellery for
the decoration of the holy man. Rings sparkled on his fingers;
collars hung around his neck; a tiara graced his venerable brow. The
lacings of his sandals were studded with pearls; a precious girdle
bound his slender waist, and six large wax candles were lighted up at
the shrine. There, embosomed in fragrant evergreens - the orange, the
lime, the acacia - stood the favorite saint, destined to receive the
first homage of every guest that should arrive. These all solemnly
took off their hats to the image."
Such religious mummery as this is painful to witness, and to see the
saint borne round in procession, with men carrying candles, and
white-clad girls with large birds' wings fastened to their shoulders,
dispels the idea of its being Christianity at all.
The people are gentle and mild-spoken. White-robed women lead strings
of donkeys along the streets, bearing huge panniers full of
vegetables, among which frequently play the women's babies.
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