Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-05-06
A Spanish Passion Play.

4
tator there is an account of the singular
observances during Holy Week in the
old-fashioned town of Baeza, situated in
the lead mining district of Andalusia.
| The writer says that a crowd OF 1900
people are clustering around the doors of
the church in silence at ha1fpast six in
the evening, when the municipal guards
come up and form in semi circular array,
with drawn swords, their scarlet uni
forms making bright fash OF color.
Inside the church, where only one side
altar is lighted, a great number of men
and women are collected, and round the
lighted altar are grouped the images,
each one larger than life, of Our
Savior, the Blessed Virgin and the nu-
merOus saints who are to have their
places in the first procession, which is
to commence at sunset. The Governor
and one of the Alcaldes enter the church,
and all eyes are turned toward the set
ting sun. When the golden line touches
the horizon the grand, mournful music
of the dead March in Saul is struck
| up by the brass band stationed within
| the doors of the church, and eight men,
| barefooted, clad in long robes of sack
cloth, girdled around the waist with a
knotted cord of esparto-grass each bear
| ing a huge wax torch in his left hand,
come down the church steps, bearing on
their shoulders the image Of :" the Christ
of us all" as the miners call the Savior.
The heads of these men are swathed in
| sackcloth, in which small Sits are
made for eye-holes. The image of
Christ is larger than life, and clad in
violet-velvet cloak, girdled; the
| legs are bare. He sits dejectedly, His
head leaning on His left hand, tears flow
ing from His eyes; His right hand, raised,
points over the crowd The eight men
carry Him fifty yards, then place Him on
the ground; the people fall upon their
knees, and man clothed in black, hold
ing long, black, draped trumpet, comes
out of the church door, and blows three
| discordant blasts. The bearers shoulder
the Christ, a long train of men clothed
like those in sackcloth and called "hum-
| ildes," or penitents-miners, peasants,
artisans and gentlemen, who walk bare
footed, purchase the penitential garb
themselves, and pay for the privilege of
joining in the procession-marchf forward
with slow and solemn steps, and the
church doors give egress to the other
images preceded by banner of purple
on which is beautifully-painted picture
OF Christ 1ainting under the weight of
His cross, His tears believing the ground.
Saint Mary Of Magdala comes next to
the Savior; she is clothed in a long,
drab cloak, and her face is hidden in her
hands. Each image with it's bearers is
followed by dozen "humildes" The
Virgin is splendidly clad in black velvet
with golden spangles, and St. John is
partly robed in scarlet. St. Luke fol
lows him, then a long train of "hum-
ildes." The band playing mournful
music precedes the priests; then come
more penitents and the officers of the
town dressed in black, with bare,
Bonded heads. Every shop is shut,
every window is crowded, but
silence reigns, as for two hours
the procession moves through the
rough streets of the mining town, all
cleared for it; and when, still attended
| by hundreds, it returns to the dark, SOL
emn church the crowd disperses in per-
feet order and everyone goes to his own
home. All through Holy Thursday the
| Chnna n
and in the evening the procession set
| forth again; but this time all the peni-
tents wore black calico gabardines an
| high, peaked caps of the same material,
| and on every mans cap was thrown a
| crown of thorns, made of the wreathed
twig of the barberry tree. They were
| all barefooted, and they carried lighted
! torches, and were followed by hundreds
| of children, of all classes, clad like them,
and carrying tapers. AS the procession
started the blare of a trumpet and the
rattle of a muff1ed kettledrum were
heard, and twelve men in buskins, short,
| buft-leather TUNES, and with steel he'll
NETS, fell in just behind the image of
| the Savior. "Who are those?" was
asked of a Spanish pitman. {" The sol
diers who destroyed our Christ" was the
answer. So, again, TO the solemn music
of the sDead March," the procession
went its way, " the lights showing wan
and sckly against the sinking sun, the
dark IMAGES standing out in bold relief
against the steeiy-blue sky, the long line
of the 'humildes' dividing the eager, or
derby crowd" On the morning of Good
Friday the cold was intense, but there was
no sign Of rain. At five in the morning
the church was crowded, and multitude
of people stood without A preacher as
enforcing the doctrine of the atonement
in short, pithy sentences, like proverbs.
At half-past six the procession came
FORTH and was again joined by the Roman
soldiers. This time each penitent
carried upon his shoulder black stained
cross of wood, four feet long. When,
| after its solemn march, it returned to the
church, the extraordinary and impressive