Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-08-06
FROM THE AZORES.
Interesting Letter from the late J. G. Cover, U.
D. Consul stPsyal.-Morsis and Reli-
gion OF the Portuguese.
(FrOm the Christian Statesmen. Milwaukee)

sion OF the Portuguese.
CFrom the Christian Statesmen. Milwaukee)
| Through the courtesy of a friend
of the late j. G. Cover, United
States Consul at the Azores, we are
permitted TO give our readers the
following very interesting extract
from letter written from Fayal by
that gentleman. Mr.. Cover, as most
OF our readers are aware, was one OF
the early settlers of the State, and
for many years the owner and edi-
tor of the Grant County Herald. He
was appointed United States Consul
at the Azores about three years
since, and was on his way home in
the barque Fredonia, at the time of
his death, on the 4th of July.-ED. ]
y There is not q thing here,
nor word, nor an idea, TO remind
one of America. The very tone ia
conversation is upon different key,
and mems opinions as to right and
wrong, justice and injustice, God
and the devil, the animal and the
moral natures, the tastes, the songs,
anecdotes, and so forth, are all diff
ferent. And the way things are done,
labor performed, the tools, the cook
ing, the craft of life, are all different,
and very evidently the same as hand.
ed down through generations, from
the era of Roman or Latin rule.
THE MoNARCHIc IDEAS
are deeply woven, dyed, and fixed in
every phase Of life. Servitude is
here mans normal nature, his ideal
being. The peasantry look up to
the aristocracy, the middle classes
look up, the aristocracy lock up to
the king-only look up, never try to
crawl or work up, but all and each,
and every one is fixture Just where
he was born. Peasants salute the
arlstocrats. the latter family return
the salutation, and such is the onlys
cheap, worthless act the poor exer-
else, and the only way in which they
are respected. The soldiers come
from among the poor, and are officer
cd by the rich, the latter just as far
away from tho people as the stars.
The aristocracy are supported by
the army The king controls the Of
ficers, and the officers control the
army and the people.
RELIGION.
The priests deal out sup erstitious
notious, and loyalty, TO the king,
and the king pays the priests. The
people have no politics, no opinions,
no schools, no books, nothing but
images Of saints, and heads to count,
every seventh bead representing
some saint, and large bead the Vir.
gin Mary, and another bead Jesus,
and great bead the Pope. Every
Sunday the priests lecture the peo-
pie upon their duties, to pray to the
saints, and to pay literally to redeem
the souls of their relatives from pur-
gatory, to contribute for decorating
the images, to buy oil for perpetual
ly lighting the tombs of the saints,
&c.
The intelligent classes are all in
fidels, protestants, doubters, secretly
hostile to the whole thing of image
worship and saint bamboozling; aud
yet, all are Catholics, just because
they must be. If any one discon-
meets from the church be loses caste
can hold no office, cannot lawfully
marry, therefore, bis children are il
legitimate, and they cannot inherit
his property he cannot be buried,
only as hereto outside the conse-
Grated Goods Acre" must go to
HI; nobody dares pray for him,
and Almighty God is forbidden to
entertain him, and st. Peter is told
to fling brands of fire at him when
he offers his ticket at the gates of
Heaven. What charming machine
is Romanism in its glory We hav-
emit the genuine article in America,
but only the shadow.
INDULGENCEs.
No bulls of indulgence are sold IN
America here they sell paper bulls
at four to ten cents each, which au-
thorize the holder to violate the fast
during Lent, by eating eggs or but
ter, 10 tell "white lies" that is, lie
when any good may result there
from, to take restitution" that is,
if you feel that your neighbours pro-
perty is yours you may take it, after
buying from the priest ten cent
bull INDUCING the robbery.
RANK AND CASTE,
there's no other law Caste is just
as much respected in an idiot as in q
duke, count, q baron. The rank