The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-07-11

length for that of child, instead Of fall
ing in ringlets or plaits, is done up with
comb like that of her mothers. Her
silk dress, with its close bodice, depend.
gravely to the instep; her mantilla falls
down her shoulders with the precision Of
that of nun; while her hands and arms
arc adjusted with the utmost composure
Her whole air is that of a lady over
whom some thirty years have passed, and
she expects you to address her in the
same respectful terms. She is the pocket
edition of precise spinster.
SUNDAY, APRIL 8. This being Palm
Sunday, all Lima turned out to witness a
procession intended to convey an idea of
the last entrance of our Saviour into Je.
: rusa,em On platform, borne forward
on the shoulders of six stout men, stood
a donkey, on which wax figure was
mounted, while the staging was strewn
with leaves of the palm. As it passed.
hosannas broke from the lips of the spec.
} tators.
On the staging which followed this,
stood the Virgin, in glowing wax. She
wore sparkling diadem, and a robe of
purple velvet, gorgeously inwoven with
gold, and flowing off into a magnificent
train, supported by angels. As she
passed, the crowd fell on their knees and
whispered their Ave Marias while the
swinging censers Of the priests sent up
their curling cloud of homage.
The third and last staging supported
tree, high in the limbs Of which clung a
little wax cherub, intended to represent
Zaccheus. He was looking down with
an expression quite removed from one Of
reverential curiosity. The children
shouted, and it was as much as their
mothers could do to hush them into ST.
lence. Thus passed this religious page.
ant; when the crowd broke up in much
the same humor with which they would
leave their seats at theatre, Were the
historic symbols of our religion intended
to amuse mankind, this spectacle might
possibly answer its purpose. But here
the awful reality so overpowers the rep
resentation, that it cannot leave in the
imagination even the solemniy of re-
ligious delusion.
MONDAY, APRIL g. We visited to-
day the Franciscan church and convent
They cover seven acres of ground, and
combine degree of architectural grand.
eur and cloisteral luxury singularly at
variance with the mendicant virtues Of
the fraternity to which they belong. The
church, indeed, is one of the most sump-
tuous in Lima, and showers its rich gid.
ing upon you from pavement to dome.
In its inches, and over its affairs repose
statues, on which art has bestowed the
highest expressions of its ambition.
In one Of the atars we recognized St.
Benedict, holding black infant Saviour
in his arms. The existence of this rep.
resentation has been denied by a distin-
guished prelate of the Roman Catholic
"h"-nh IN .L~ Tr-:i-l O. =
eyes. The idea originated, undoubtedly,
in wish to conciliate the African. Rome
becomes all things to all men, and hope
for the purpose Of saving some.
The convent has four hundred cloisters,
which open on stately corridors that cir
Gle around central courts, where fountains
play among evergreens, fruits, and flowers.
Who would not gaze on a skull and
life-glass only an hour or two a day to
enjoy such residence as this These
gloomy emblems of our mortality might
almost be forgotten in the deathless bloom
Of the amaranth. Give me a monk for
exigencies he can make solitude social,
and convert golgotha into garden He
lives in affluence without ready penny,
and is sainted without an active virtue.
TUESDAY, APRIL I. To die regularly
in Lima the patient must be admonished
of his approaching end by his physician,
and receive extreme JUNCTION from his
priest. The physician who should let
his patient die without this timely warn.
ing, would receive the severest censures
Of the relatives of the deceased, and be
required by the church to pay for masses
for the repose of his soul. He is consc-
quently faithful in this last sad office.
With us the sick often die in glowing
dreams of lite. The pale shadow fits
before their glazing eyes, but is not seen
The medical profession here, in dignity
and respect, ranks far below the pulpit,
the bar, and the camp. 1t involves too
many cares, too many vigils, too many
humble Offices to suit the Incidence and
pride of the spaniard, 1t is consequent
ly exercised mainly by those of African
or Indian descent, and a thankless Office
they nave of it. If their patient sur.
wives, it is ascribed to some miraculous
intervention of the Virgin; if he dies, it
is attributed to an objectionable want OF
skill so that between the imputed mira
Gle in the one case and inevitable death
in the other, he gets but little credit for
his professional sagacity. His only re-
source in all critical cases is to call in
half a dozen consulting physicians and
share with them the responsibility of the
issue. | always pity a consulting physi-
clan; he must approve what has been
done, though in so doing he often gives
the lie to the change of treatment which
he directs. But let that pass.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL s. The great cath
edral was crowded at an early hour this
morning to witness the ceremony of the
Banner" As the organ commenced a
low, mournful air, tall priest, robed in
black, took his station in front of the
high altar, where he unfurled from its
staff large sombre banner
After having waved it for a few min
utes in front of the lights on the great
altar-knocking over one of the candles,
which suppose went for Judas Iscariot
he faced about, and with his long train,
supported by three pages, marched down,
with slow stately step, into the centre
Of the cathedral. Here twenty-iour
priests, through whose files he passed, and
who were in sable robes. with dark crowns
on their heads fell fat with their faces
upon the pavement. The banner contin-
ued waving over them for several min
utes, while the low tones of the organ