The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1870-08-12
MisE&lIAmq,
THE AUTO DA FE OF 1915.

/ / lG nlSE UlN OF NONelnDeIy II 10
broke fair and bright oyer the sunny
Y1and of POI ,ugal. The sUr rose az
! from beF'ud the Sierra ~ unclOudeC
| bripiancy, and shCt a flood of COLDER
! light over the T.u1 clad I"Is, and the
siIyeIY waters of the Tagrs danced and
! sparklcd IS they rOi-d Iaz'l y on to the
| broad bosom of the bay. The churches
| and palaces Of Lisbon seemC / rOOfCG
with gold, au PSI III the novels and
| court Of the poor eud wret ch d gave
back sm''e of joy G3 the bright sun
shine. the common pTOpei,y of high
and low, found ia cheering way L
| their sqUPIjd Tet ,eats. Though the
hour was carly, the 81 'eets were
! thrOnged with the pOpU'ace d"e- cd IN
| holiday Rti ire, ana evidently in high
state of excitement. L8bOrerS and
| serfs seemed TO forget, on tbs C sion,
/ their Tsual reverence and sCr2jIiuy, for
| they iOStlCd and shoUldeTed the titled
nObIC3 who were scattered here and
! there among tho crowd. The mitrCd
/ bishop and highCGt tIUnctiOnariC3 of the
| Romish Church forced their way with
difficulty through the excited throng.
This was the appointed day for the
auto da fe, Eud stfCetT, balCOr 'es, and
windows Were already P'iVe with eager
facC9 TO witness the procession Of con-
demped heretics. Inc execution was
Fake place at high noon, and as the
fatal hour drew near the excitement
became intense The pOpulace gave
vent to thei~ impatience by loud shouts,
while 9'l eye were turned to the gIOO-
my pIlsOn of the imposition, whence
the prOcC SSiOn was to emerge. Though
the proceedings of the dead tribunal,
then at the height of its power in the
kingdom of Portugal, were generally
shrOudcd IA S crCcy, which none dared
pry into or scrutipize, yet it had some
how trapspired that an unusually large
number of victims were this day to seal
thejr fidelity to cOnscience by thS8ap-
tism Of fire.
At last the lOng-eXpC 3ted signal was
given and, as the deep-tOned bells
tolled the hour of noon, a hOarse muir
mur of satisfaction broke from the RnX-
iOus inhuman crowd. The IrOWning
portals of the prison were thrown open,
and q strong guard of halberdiers open
ed q lane through the dense thrOng,
and formed in close order on the right
and left. Then q procession of rObed
priests, bearing n crucifiX and chanting
a Ie DettTl, issued from the doorway,
followed by the ictims who were DOOM
ed TO be burned at stake for daring to
worship God according to His revealed
viii. Last of a came q Group of nuns
with ve''s over their f. ;es anu mutter-
ing AUes, and some of them, perhaps,
prayers for the Wretched beings in
their T'Ont. There were a dozen or
more of these unfOrtr1atCs, of both
sexes, and of various ranks. They
were all dressed alike in the fantastic
and hideOus garb prescribed for such
occasions.
mott of the prisoners and some wore
even a cheer and iUmphat expires
sion Of cOuuten9ce &c. One of the party,
however seem to attract most of the
and a'l the sympathy OF tho
sp- c+9tOIl. :. She was a young girl 1
FCarcely sixteen ye3"s of age, whose
WOndrOus ! eluty even the rude garb ia
which she W9s clad cord not disguise
Her large DIRK ey 3 were raised implO-
ringly toward heaven. anG at times,
low sob Of agony WoG burst ON her
lips. She look auSioUsly, now and
then, into the suTS.Dg crowd that in
clos / the pIOcC isiOH, as If searching
for some low and f. n ''iar form; but
her gaze Or'y encoU9 U9t tered the strange
faces Of tho who EGd come to glOat
and dread u hot" had she, so young
and 80 lovely, no lend on whom her
tear.ll eyes might r,~t ere they were
closed in death?
Far ON the scene which we have
just depicted, - the T. ist 0cra;; &c quarter
of the city, fond hCc',s We're tIeakiug
for her sake, and crI'sh, / spills ASere
pouring themSelV forth ~ pra Ito
the Hoy Virgin that she might escape
her ter. ible doom. Father and mother,
fond brothers and s'stc.-, had shut out
the sunlight ON their DaIatial man.
sion, and in darknC-s ana despair were
beWP" ng their utter inab"ity to rescue
their belOvC L )uOIl. They knew,
too, they would be coz '1g IKE fate
were they to show even sS .npaty for
her suffer 1gs, and hence they had not
dared to visit her since she had been
condemned by the cOUIG of inquisitiOn.
AS the prOce sion moves on to the
place of eX~ eutiOn, just beyond the
city limits we VII briefly acqnaint the
reader " .tI the story of LeonOra De
Casio. She was the eldest daughter
of a bert De Castro, one of the most
nOblemen OF the king
dom, being younger scion of the du-
cal house of YavoTa. His house adj
Joined that occupied by Lori Effiug-
nam, the British Minister at the court
of Lib iOn, and though the father of
LeOnOTa was u ROmaniSt, and Lord
Ef1ing.lam q jealous l 'Otestant, they
enteTle ned a Ugh regard for each
other, and there was tequent inter
change of civ .Iities between them.
The children of the Two families be-
came ve..y intimate, and LoOnOra, in
paI cular, spent much of her time ut
the house of the Nh 'SteT. She even
obtained her fathers consent to study
the English language " ith the children
of that nObleman. Now, the tutor Of
Lord Effi1gham's cl 'ldren was retired
curate of the ChU"ch of England, with
lLlly as much zeal for h's faith as any
Jesuit.
Being much pleased with the inteIli-
gence and capaci,y Of his new pupil,
the worthy curate, little dreaming Of
the dreldICI consequences that would
result f'Om his Interference, lost no
time in pointing out to poor LeOnOra
the errors of her faith. So assiduOus
was he in Fis efforts to "snatch a
brand from the burning, that in very
shOi time she b came as anxious to
the real truth of the Gospel
as he cop'd wish. He supplied her
with a copy of the Scripture, in Eng
I'sh, aud bade her consult its sacred
pages to learn the way the truth, and
the life.
IeOnora soon became satisfied that
the faith of her fathers was not the true
faith. aud being of an ardent tempeTa-
menu, she determined no longer to
weld obedience to the absurd require
men and idoIa,rous practices Of the
Church Of Rome. As soon "a her p2-
renta became aware of the change in
her religious sentiments, they resorted
to every means III their power to re-
claim her, but in vain. The family
confessor, becoming apprised soon after
of her apOstasy, tried by reason and
argument TO convince her that she had
been misled but, finding all his effol IS
to bring her again into the bosom Of
the Church Intellectual, he advised her
father to send her at once to the Ursu-
line convent at St. Ibrs He did so,