The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-05-12
THURSDAY, MAY IL, 1853.

ly canvassng for the Office of feet washer and
waiter. These fair devotees - Principessas,
Duchessas, Marchessas, and Roman ladies I'M
titled but Of wealth and flshion-were dressed
in black, but many very richly, and wore large
aprons of some bright red stuff, with waists 0f
the same, and badge of the Virgin on the left
breast - altogether a very becoming aud a
slightly coquettish costume, especially to the
young Italians, whose dark, rich beauty showed
TO unusual advantage. The dress did not suit
quite 90 well the pale.haired and high-colored
English ladies--for there were several of these,
and the most eager and busting and solemnly
fussy Of all.
The entire company certainly went through
with their duties to admiration-w washing the
feet with their bare hands in tubs Of warm
water, with plenty of soap-scrubbing away
Justify at successive deposits of weeks on weeks
of pilgrimage.
The feet thoroughly washed and carefully
| dried-perhaps for the first time within the
memory of the pilgrims-there followed some
| religious services, and then they assembled to
the upper room, each conducted and supported
| by her lady. | noticed a Roman princess
whom | had seen one night at the Colonna
Palace so blazing with diamonds that almost
shrank back from her as from a CLEAN of light
ning-come up, arm in arm with the most
squalid and bedraggled beggar of them all To
see the velvet of her robe and the rice lace of
her sleeve in close contact with the not merely
suspicious, but too evidently offensive and mi
gratory filth of those rags, was to me simply
disgusting. The pilgrim, who looked hearty
woman enough, seemed afflicted with sudden
debility, and leaned rather heavily against the
princess Perhaps she liked the feeling of
velvet
Ipitied, while condemned, this Pharasaical
parade of soulless and worthless humility, in
a set Of women of limited mental enlghten-
ment, and, it is to be hoped, also, of moral re-
sponsibility; but my heart burned with indig-
nation against Church encouraging these
| tramping deyotees, and sanctoning such fanat-
ical vagabondism. Did the hospital receive
pilgrims privately, give them good, thorough
bath, a suit Of clean clothes entertain them
comfortably, and finally dismiss them, with ex-
hortations to the Christian virtues of industry
and cleanlinesS--to speedy return home, and
faithful discharge of theduties Of husbands
and wives, fathers and mothers-then it were
quite another thing. But this would spoil the
sight-deprive the noble Roman ladies of a
favorite penance, and compel fair English con-
verts to content themselves with more common
place acts of charity among their own poor.
We did not wait to see the supper conclu-
ded, but left in the midst of ravenous discus
sion of soup. had endured, calmly, the sight
Of all the wretchedness | have described to
you-l had borne in my nostrils that heavy,
pervading, noisome scent which so surely be-
trays the presence of extreme poverty and I'M
cleanliness--so sadly different from that "odor
of sauctity" which, in poetry, hangs about the
holy pilgrim; but the garlic in that coup was
too much for me.
On the night of Holy Saturday, they had the
last and greatest exhbition-the excitement
was at its height, the attraction unpreccdent-
ed. The King of Bavaria was there and the
| Princess Spada the Princess Corsina, the Prin-
cess Doria, and the Princess Piombino, in the
suds Doubtless he was greatly edited at the
sight; but whether he would like to have q
hand in the pious work, is a question, Judg-
ing from his cold worldly, impassiye face, and
naughty, fastidious air, should decidedly say,
no. He looks like a man who sees through
these things completely, and is only politically
a son of the Church.
AS ever, yours, GRACE GREENWOOD.