The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1886-08-26
A voedeo Qu,ep.

- SOOSsOV X0O00o
From George w. Cables article on
Creole Slave Songs, in the Century, We
quote the following concerning the
famous Marie Laveau: '.The worship
Of Voodoo is paid to snake kept in q
box. The worshipers are not merely
sect, but in some rude, savage way
also an order. A man and woman
chosen from their own number to be
the oracles of the serpent deity are
called king and queen. The queen is
the more important of the two, and
even in the present dilapidated state
of the worship in Louisiana, where tho
kings Office has almost or quite disap-
peared, the queen is still person of
great note.
''She reigns as long as she continues
to live. She comes to power not by in
heritance. but by election or its bar
bar0us equivalent. Chosen for such
qualities as would give her a natural
supremacy, personal attractions among
the rest, and ruling over superstitious
fears. and desires of every fierce and
ignoble sort, she Yields no trivial in
fluence. l once saw, in her extreme
old age, the famed Marie Laveau.
Her dwelling was in the quadroon
quarter of New Orleans, but step or
two from Congo Square, small adobe
cabin just off tho sidewalk, scarcely
higher than its close board fence,
whose batten gate yielded to the touch
and revealed the crazy doors and win
dows spread wide to the warm air, and
one or two tawny faces within, whose
expression was divided between a pre-
tense of contemptuOus inattention and
q frowning resentment..0 of the intrusion.
In the center of small room. whose
ancient cypress floor was worn with
scrubbing and sprinkled with crumbs
of soft brick-a creole affectation of su-
perior cleanliness-sat quakiDg with
feebleness in an ill-looking old rocking
chair, her body bowed and her wild,
gray witch's tresses hanging about her
shriveled, yellow neck, the queen of
the Voodoos. Three generations of
her children were within the faint
beckon of her helpless. waggliDg
wrist and fingers. They said she was
over 100 years old, and there was moth
ing to cast doubt on the statement.
Sc had shrunken away from her
skin; it was like turtles. Yet with
III one could hardly help see that the
face now so withered, had once been
handsome and commanding. There
was still faint shadow of departed
beauty on the forehead, the spark of
an old fire in the sunken glistening
eyes, and vestige of imperiousness in
the fine, slightly acquiline nose, and
even about the silent, woe-begone
mouth. Her grandson stood by. an
uninteresting quadroon between forty
and fifty years old, looking strong.
empty minded, aud trivial enough:
but his mother her daus hter, was also
present, a woman of some seventy
years. and most striking and majes-
tic figure. In features, stature and
bearing she was regal.
One had but to look on her, impute
her brilliancies-toO untamable and
severe to be called charms or graces-
to her mother, and remember what
New Orleans was long years ago to
understand how the name of Marie
Laveau should have driven itself in
ext icably into the traditions of the
town and the times. Had this visit
been postponed few months it would
have been too late. Marie Laveau is
dead; Malvina Latour is queen. AS
she appeared presiding over a Voodoo
ceremony on the night of June %,
1884, she is described as bright mulat-
tress of about forty-eight, of Extremely
handsome figure dignitied bearing,
and face indicative of a comparative
ly high order of intelligence. She
wore neat blue, white dotted calico
gown, and brilliant tignon Uurban)
gracefully ted