St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-09-15

cRvel NsooERN FINANCE.

I CRUEL MODERN PgNAtscg.
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esaf-x1agsalA&isaa - is = FseseeeeA Hsvo
Aays n shs Assesp.
Ono dos not encounter every day :,
remnant 81 bygope barbarian 20 seARt
hing a. that which It has just been- y,
lot to unearth ii the. beantifl Ialspl
q St. llichasiT. Certain vague tunes
had reached he limiting: that The. cras
ceremony Of Aagellation. accompanv
ing the festival 81 Nossa' Benhors do
Rassos. ON the third Sunday 81. tn,
Cuaresma Len), WAS still praeticea .,
ore Of she remote northeast tillages
In the little '4omba" Sillage Of Acha,
dinha, shout Ave miles from otir. desti
natioa. We were greeted with the mos,
genial courtesy by the young village
padre. whose welcome to the Anglican
strangers was too sincere TO be
doubted for IN instant. and to him, n
he did the honOrs OF his curious little
church. ! put the query which was up.
permOst in my thoughts. He at once
admitted frankly the existence Of the
practice Of public) )nsgellation at Fenaes
dAjuda. speaking Of it in terms OF
strong reprobation as a barbarism.
both inhuman in itself and Inconsistent
with the modern teaching Of his own
church. But 20 deeply rooted. he
averred. il the custom. and the belief
in its efficacy. that even the influence
OF the priests is totally powerless to
suppress it Sincere - this protest
assuredly was. I subsequently found its
truth to be much Questioaea in Ponta
Delgada. though the subject was al
most as foreign to that metropolis ~
to London itself. ~. tr..t
Arrived 1t Fenaces d'Ajuda. short
ly made the acquaintance OF two other
priests, also young and educated men;
and. after some hesitation, obtained .
full confirmation Of their colleagues
Information with = similar, though
less forcible, cOmmeat It uas during
an examination Of the principal church
Of Fenses, dedicated TO the Roys
Magos (Magi. that the, following facts
were communicated. The building.
which forms the headquarters Of the
ceremony described, is an unattached,
church known as Nossa Senhora
'd'Ajnda. connected With the nova ex-
tinct Convento dos Frades, which joins
H. The edifice IL . landmark to the
surrounding country. standing promi-
nently near the head OF the AjudA
Psint overlooking the ocean. whil1
the Maeos. on parish church. which
disclaims these practices. Is situated
IN the center Of the village The feat
wre Of the procession on the Sunday
Of the Passos n q band Of eighteen
mens whose ids,stity remains unknown
even TO. many of their own fellow villa.
gers. They are attired for the occaa-
ion in . white nondescript robe, the
hood Of which entirely covers the
head and face. while the back 10 bare
for tho inAict,en Of the scourge
Welded BY each in his own hand. The
dagellatiOn never ceases during tho
course Of the procession through sew
eral Of the struggling streets Of the
village, and the hideous scene culmi-
mates in tho little convental church,
where mass Is celebrated by one Of tho |
esnaes priests to this horrible accom-
paniment. The church il OF the type
throughout the islands. nicely
Kept, and not without architectural
pretensi0ns Of. Seventeenth century
character. It was open to our inspee-
ion on the occasion Of our visit, and \
here ell question wss. set ct rest by an
evidence which needed not the xsrifoA- |
ion it receivea.oH~all- -sides. Right
md Left Of the altar ] found the white
Washed walls and the two confessionals
lashed and spattered TO . height Of
our or Ave feet fsom the ground with
he blood Of these, poor selftorturedl 1
martyrs, crying aloud. indeed. though
n . voice far different TO that intend
d. TO the Heaven, it thus seeks 70
'ia -. al
The ArSt of these Weapons Is :
courge (asofrague): consisting Of .
hort handle of dark wood with an
ron ring. and . bunch of cord termi-
lating in twelve hard twisted leather
hongs. This is bad enough sug-
'estively; but the other (nagella) out
Ierods IL A hard ball Of wax. sus-
ended by looped string. and the size
I . small hens egg. is set all over
nth horrid splinters Of glass about
'alf IN inch long, keen - . needle and
azor combined, and making ones
esh quiver to realize the method OF
. use - graphically pictured BY the
estures Of my informant-C6r. LoS-
o. STANDARD.
1