Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-06-15
Priests and Beggars in Naples.

hiAcstS ohu DCkBuIb HI NupicSs
The foreign correspondent of the New York
Times thus decribes the priests and beggars of Ma.
pies:
This city has 257 churches, sufficient indica-
ton Of the religious bias Of the people. Many OF
them are sumptuous, but there Is no st. Peters.
The Cathedral of San Gennaro still exhibits, twice
year, the miracle of the Lquefaction Of the
blood Of its patron saint, who was decapitated
1900 years ago, and some of whose blood was
caught and preserved in two phials. The masses
believe It to be a genuine miracle, and not long
since an article in leading American Catholic Or
gan spoke OF it as dispensaton Of Providence,
Intended to compensate the people here for the
dangers OF their situation, in the midst of region
Of earthquakes and volcanoes! A staunch Irish
Catholic, however, whose acquaintance have made
at Naples, and who is resident here, told me under
his BREATH that it was known by all well informed
people TO be trick, but as it was considered of
good tendency in supporting the faith of the igno-
rant, it was sustained alike by the church aud the
government.
may here remark that the crowds of people,
especially Of the lower classes which throng to the
churches, on the numerous festival days, arc i'm
mense. The idleness and beggary, SO prevalent
here, are largely attributable to these constant in
tcrruptons of labor and encouragements to diss-
patton. The people are particularly delighted with
Church. The procession in celebration of the dis
covery of the inmaculacv of the Virgin, headed by
the bareheaded king and his mobiles, was two miles
long, and took seven hours to pass given point
Nowhere has the Madonnas new dignity been
hailed with more enthusiasm than here, especially
by lazzaroni and the street eaters of maccaroni.
The friars who preach to these fellows in the open
air, tell them that the Virgin, being now declared
by the Church to be free from original SIM has
much greater power in heaven than before, and
therefore it is great advantage to them, as they
can pray to her for blessings themselves, their
friends, the Church, and the city Of Naples, with
more confidence than ever.
Beggcry in many parts of Europe is profession.
A shoemaker, or carpenter, has not more spe-
cifc trade than the beggar. It is notorious that
in Catholic countries mendicity especially abounds.
The most obvious is, that alms-gving is pre-
scribed by the church. Thus, beggary is support
cd and honored In Italy, men, women, and
children beg as by right. 1t inficts no shame;
even monks beg, conceiving that they glorify God
II so doing. Religion, public opinion, popular
sympathy, encourage this profession. Even when
all the people around know a beggar to be an i'm
poster, he is none the less tolerated and sustained
The beggar is thus, in some sense, sanctifed by
current religious dogmas. Even his knaveries,
tricks, and impostions winked at, and thus all
or nearly all systematic beggars are acknowledged
knaves
In the Neapolitan territories, mendicity has
reached its most ample and diversified develop
ment. Here few are above or beyond begging,
either professionally or upon occasion and here,
MS elsewhere, beggary is largely combined with
knavery.
The travells is constantly amazed to see we'll
I'D, thrifty people engaged in their occupations
along the roads, inprovising baggary. Girls and
boys, and often men and women, cultvating the
land by the way-side, will scamper over the fields
at sight of a coming vettara, and drown all other
sounds with the eternal cry of "Pm hungry
We are all dying Of hunger! For the love of God,
give us cent" Ifthe passer's heart is softened,
these gentle banditti will gamble with each other
for the gifts OF the Church and Providence thus
bestowed upon them. The laborers employed
upon the public roads are all beggars, of course
In the towns and villages strangers are infested
with mendicant crowds, each one having dressed
himself for his part. IfHeaven has blessed man
with crumpled foot, hideous wen, or an open
sore, Il is deemed sure fortune; he or she has
only to poke 1t in the face Of the traveller who,
out OF disgust IL for better reason viii dispense
his loose coin. Others less gifted, who have sound
limbs and healthy frame, can at any rate counter
felt the cripple feign any infection from leprosy
TO palsy. The art Of these people, in attitude,
gait and costume, beats all the devices of the
theatre.