Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1890-01-22
SUPERSTIT1OUS RELICS.
EMBLEMs OF THE SACRED PAST
TREASURED IN ITALY.

EMBLEMs OF THE SACRED PAST
TREASURED IN ITALY.
Thugs Which Are So yener.ted, and
Which Possess Such Remarkable Cura-
tive Qualities.
| There is scarcely town or village in Italy
90 small, or SO poor, that it does not posses,
at least, one emblem Of a sacred past, be it
| but the handkerchief that has wiped the
brow OF a saint, or the paving stone which
| his foot has pressed Preserved carefully in
| cathedral, church or monastery, these pious
| relics are cherished by the people who ezdow
| them with supernatural qualities as they
come to pray before them. How many blind
| eyes and lame legs and diseased bodies are
| supposed to have been cured by their mere
touch, is proved by the great number Of
thank offerings hung before the shrines
wherein they are preserved.
The rarest, most effcacious and valuable of
these church emblems are, of course, in Rome,
the richest of all religious cente-s. Where
most towns can boast Of but one, or at the
most two, venerable relics, Rome can boast
OF many, and at Rome, therefore, we shall
begin.
Among so many it is difficult to decide
which Is first in importance, but probably
the little Bambino, or baby Christ, appeals
most strongly to the Imagination of the
populace. And what is the "bambinoF'
Imagine rude wooden doll, dark and
smooth with age, with features so uniformed
and crude that schcolboy might have
carved it with his pocket knife. Daubs Of
bright red paint are upon both of the round
wooden cheeks and two more daubs Of blue
are supposed to represent blue eyes. The
image is SO roughly hewn that beside the
beautiful golden haired French doilsof our
day a modern little girl would discard the
bambino as toy; yet this is no ordinary
doll, but one so precious That no money could
buy it. 1t was carved by no other than st.
Luke and from wood from the Mount of
Olives. It is said that when the saint had
finished his craven image of the infant Christ
he rested from his labers, and while he slept
an angel from heaven came down and added
the finishing touches, putting on the patches
OF bright paint.
Judged by the standard of an art student
of today, this combination of the handi-
work of saint and angel would hardly pass;
but 1t Is not by its appearance, but by its mi
raculous qualities that the bambino must be
judged. It has long been esteemed by the
people of Rome as one.o of the most valuable
of all their enblems in the cure of disease
Placed upon the bed of even the dying, it
has been known to effect cares. Dressed in
royal robes, with 5eweled crown enciFclmg
its head end jewels besprinkling it from head
to foot, this tiny image.is taken at intervals
from it's home insthe monastery attached to
the Church Of Ara Ctnh, near the capitol, and
driven in gorgeouschariot through the streets
Of Rome. The-people fall, praying, before it,
and the lame, the halt and the blind struggle
to but touch single finger to the bambino,
that they may becured of their ills.
Formerly it was permitted that the sacred
image should be taken to the houses of the
sick and left for a few hours upon the beds Of
the diseased ones, but by this custom ter
rible accident once happened 10 the little bam-
bino, and since then. except upon the days of
its public appearance, il is carefully locked
in a case behind the altar Of monastery
chapel, and is allowed togo visiting no more
The accident occurred in TINS way: The
bambino was left one night in the bed of a
woman who pretended to be very i'll, but who
in reality employed the night in carving an
exact copy Of the little wooden doll The
wicked woman thought no doubt that bam-
bino doctor all her own would be q valuable
possession, and the next morning she dressed
the false image in the royal robes and sent it
to the monastery. keeping the real one for
herself
But that very night at midnight the good
monks were reused from their sleep by the
faint sound of childs cry. They listened,
and again and again it came until one of the
fathers crossed the stone floor in the direction
of the sound, and there he saw, peeping under
the door sill, the little brown feet of the bam-
bipo. He hastily opened the door, to find the
little wandering image standing there trying
to enter his home. At the discovery of this
daring fraud the fake one asspeedly thrown
into the closet and the bambino was safely
locked in its.shelf to emerge no more. What
terrible punishmentc to the sinful woman
I never heard, but Recommendation was
much too good for her.
For small fee the monks win sometimes
unlock the hid of the bambinois cradle and
allow strangers to gaze upon it. asked Of
the monk who exhibited it to me whether the
ban,bino was capable of curing the weak
lungs of a Protestant foreigner. With ges-
ture OF acquiescence he quickly crossed him
self and, taking small print likeness of the
banbino from the foot Of the cradle, he
rubbed it over sthe throat and chest Of the
wooden image. Then mustsring another
short prayer he recrossed himself and handed
the picture to me- ''Keep il, hs said, land
night and morning rubit over your throat
and hngs-you will need no other medicine"
Whether it was the mere possession, of the
banbino's likeness, which never apphed as
the monk directed, or whether It was the
mild airs of Italy, I never knew, but-certain
it is that my lungs grevvbetter and to this
day I cherish the print Of the sacred BAN
bino.
Next in interest to this baby Christ is per-
haps the ssiuted staircase winch is preserved
under an open portico on one OF the streets
of Rome. Tradition tells Us that these ere
the same stairs that once belonged to. Pilates
house, and down which Christ walked on his
way from the Judgment seat. Since they
have been brought to Rome NO human fooSis
allowed to touch them, but The faithful ones
may ascend them on their hands snd knees
From below I watched the crowd Of de~osees
drag themselves upon their knees up the long
fight of twenty steps, pausinz at certain
spots'on the stairway to bend and kiss the
hard marble and repeating more ferveotly
than before the sves and patefncsters that
are said on every stair. It was upon these
spots it is said tbat the drops Of preparation
fell from toe Saviour ang1nsasd brow. So
great are the crowds Of pilgrims that come
70 ascend these stairs. taaf-evea the afanant