The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-15 00:00:00

FESTIVAL IN HONOUR OF THE

MADONNA.

The following is from a letter dated Naples, Jan. 2.
—The city has, for the last week, been turned upside
down in getting up a fete and procession in honour of
" Maria Vergiue." The streets and purlieus of Naples
have been cleaned out as they never have been since the
halcyon days when our beloved (big) brother, the Em-
peror of all the Missies, condescended to visit this hum-
Tole sein, of absolutism. Whether, as then, coachmen
were ordered to put on round hats and long-tailed
coats, and Lazzaroni to imprison their unaccustomed
feet in leather, I know not ; but everything was done
to give the external aspects of decency to the city.
The king, it appears, went on foot from his palace
to the church of Gesu Vecchio, whence this extra-
ordinary procession started. The cardinal, bishops,
mad clergy led the van—then came the gigantic doll-
like image of the Madonna, followed immediately
behind by his Majesty, supported by generals on
either side. The Hereditary Prince, supported by
his two uncles, then followed—the younger son of the
King succeeded—then came a line of royal carriages,
and the whole was closed by cavalry and a train of
artillery. In this way the procession made the round of
old Naples, returning, after four hours' walking, to the
soot from which they had started. Her Majesty and a
large assemblage of the court were at the windows of the
palace, and all Naples was out to witness this distinguished
act of royal devotion. His Majesty was so much Over-
come by his feelings that he was frequently seen to
wipe away the tears which rolled down his pious
cheeks. Would that but one tear had fallen for Poerie
and hundreds of others who at this hospitable season
are pining within dungeon walls. What is the mean-
ing of all this ? I asked of a sharp-looking man, who
had been a curious spectator. " Why, sir," was the
reply, "two religions had a lite' with the Pope as to
whether the Madonna was immaculate or not, and
now his holiness has decided that all religions' are to
believe in her immaculate conception." So important
an event was not likely to be passed over in Naples,
and hence the great religious demonstration which has
just been made. To the man of thinking mind it cannot
but be matter of surprise that the 19th century has been
chosen for so broad an assertion of Papal infallibility,
and on a dogma which has for so many centuries been
permitted to repose in uncertainty. Some incredulous
minds, too, are apt to think that the decision of the
Pope was imperfect, inasmuch as it did not establish
the immaculate conception of all the ancestry of the
Madonna. Those who know Naples, however, will
not be so much surprised at the puerilities practised
hero. I believe that there is quite as much knavishness as
fdlly in them, and that, like the " panem et circenses"
for the Romans, these are provided to amuse and to
divert public attention from political reflections. In fact,
the great effort here is to emasculate the public mind and
reduce it to complete subjection to the priesthood, and so
long as that subjection continues there are no hopes for
the reformation or resurrection of Italy. What an in-
sult it is to the best interests of man, that whilst
Europe is shaken to her foundations, by the mighty
political events of the day, the whole of the south of
Italy is drivelling about subjects which ought to have
slumbered under the cobwebs of antiquity ! On the Gth
of January a much more important act will be per-
formed—the Hereditary Prince will be declared of age
on his reaching his 18th birthday, and in presence of the
whole army, on the Campo, will be invested with the in- '
signia of generalissimo of the army. Little is known
of the education of the future sovereign, but it may be presumed that it has been of a narrowing cha-
racter. His disposition is, however, said to be good,
and much is hoped for from the arm of 9. prince..
who was so universally beloved, and whose memory
often calls the tears into the eyes of the poor
people. If I cannot speak of political reforms, I can
at all events of great moral reforms which confirm the
acknowledged title of Naples to the odour of sanctity.
The reform of which I speak may be considered as a
pendant to the green trouser movement amongst the
Ballerine. The Journal des Demoiselles, highly popular
amongst the ladies of Naples, as might be inferred from
its title, is prohibited from being issued until certain al-
terations have been made in the figurini. The drawings
with the Parisian fashions were considered toe prurient
for the highly moral population of Parthenope. Ac-
cordingly, pious hands are employed to lengthen the
upper part of the dress, and short sleeves are brought
down to the elbow. The mode of making the shapes
is also abstracted, so that ladies and mantua makers
are au desespoir, and may get up a demonstration.
The figurini, I hear, however, are daubed in so
imperfect a manner that the fashions can be de-
tected underneath. Still no one will now take in the
Journal, and it bids fair to die of inanition. This is
another of the recent puerilities practised in Naples.
There are few people here this winter, and of those
who have arrived the majority are Americans. The
King and Queen pass the Ariaja daily, and on arriving
at Strada Nuova the King mounts on horseback.
An event has taken place which has put all the
foreigners on the qui vice. A third orifice has been
formed in Vesuvius. It is near the top of the cone, and
the opening is so clean that the strata of the mountain
may be seen to a considerable depth. Much caution is
now required in the ascent, as this orifice is in the path
which visitors have been in the habit of taking. The
old guides are predicting an eruption, but without suffi-
cient reason, as many think.