Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-23

mingo Santa Marie (Bamaceda's prede-
cessoT), settled the matter judicially by
inducing congress to pass Il law which
threw all the public cemeteries Of Chilli
open TO people of every religious faith. or of
no faith at all Previous TO that date they
had been the exclusively property of the
ROmiSh church, and had yielded large
revenue Besides the IS tax on every
cadaver. burial lots We're sold at high
price. In the big cemetery at Santiago. the
longest time for which a lot was sold was
four generations. about thirty years. An
average lot. two yards long by one yard
wide, cost $50. for a period of four genera
tions the same size lot for one burial, one
year. 50. For the privilege of erecting I
family monument. after the lot was paid
for go additional. 4 record was kept. and
when the stipulated time expired, me
friends Of the deceased could continue il
possession only by renewing the lease and
to another part of the country, or wee all
dead. their lot was reSold when the lease
expired. and the former tenants eyicted;
but if they desired to remove their dead to
another place. $50 was charged for permits
sion TO do SO.
The church in Santiago owns first-class
hearSe. which is used only Tor great digni-
taries. at the cost of $50 for conveying the
corpse on its last journey. II also has u
secund-class hearse for common people
the fee for using which is $l2, and third
class hearSe for s.. And 50 on down the
social gaInut to the sixth class, composed OF
the church's most devoted servants. who,
having no money to pay for any hearse
carry their dead on u stretCher. and lay
them, cotinless, in the rotos ragged peo-
ple's'J corner. That great cemetery Of
Chih's capital. with its more than three
hundred thousand registered dead. is GER
taiuly the most pOpUlouS. if not popular
public resort in the country. And the pop
ulation, still constantly increasing, is
PERMANENT ONE.
disturbed by no Alay-day lnOyiugS. or revO-
lutions, or changing governments. 1t IS di-
yided into five parts-onc for dignitalies of
the church, one for wealthy and influential
people. another for common clay, and an
other for rOtos who are too poor to pay any
thing. Passing iuto that City Of Silence
through a lofty arched gateway topped Oya
tai cross one stands amazed al the multi
tude OF bronze and marble monuments and
splendid statues. many OF them executed
BY the most famous sculptors of Europa
crowd OF costly and artistic shapes, far eX-
cecding in number those to be found 1t
Greenwood or Mount Auburn. Thousands
OF the monuments are i'll the form of cruel
fixes. reminding the visitor of some ones
thought; Let US hope they have gained
the crown, for behold the multitude OF
crosses they have left behind" Ever
greens. willows, towering shrubs, roses
and fOrgct-me-notS riot everywhere. with
that uncanny luXuriance peculiar 10 grave
yards.
Should You larry TO watch the sexton
digging j grave YOU would observe that his
spade soon encounters something hard III
the sandy earth. 1t is only the fragments
Of some forgotten persons coffin, which,
with skull and marrow bones, are care
leSSly ratified out upon the sand. 4 little
deeper down he Is sure 10 come upon an
other poor Yorick' and yet another. four
layers of them being about the average Ii
is still spoken of with bated breath in
Conception, how when the famous Gene
terry bill. which compelled the authorities
to permit the burial OF Professionals and
other hereti2S III the public pantheOns.
had passed both houses Of congress and re
ceived the signature of the president, the
bishop of this diocese. the most influential
Jesuit III all South America, Il man Of
powerful physique and i'll apparent health,
dropped dead from the shock of the news
Pending the presidents signature, he was
waited upon b. (. delegation composed OF
hundreds of the wea!thieSt ladies OF the
country, who besoughr him to veto tine cb-
nOXiOus bill. They We're the wives and
daughters of the Gillian ariStOcracy-the
same class of ladies', still swayed III all
things by the church. who are to-day eS-
pOuSing the cause Of the reVOlutioniStS.
which in reality is Il question of the Lib
eral party against so-callcd conservatism.
OF the ariStOcracy against the common peO-
pie, free schools and enlightened progress
against circumscribed education and re
turn 10 the priesIly rule of half a century
ago.
a few years ago very wealthy Gillian
died. leaving $1,000 in the hands of an exc
cGtor to DE expended in masses for the re-
IF his cp1l Tho raTiNrn
not consent to perform more than 500
masses for that amount of money and SO
the thrifty executor wrote to Spain, and
after considerable nacgling procured 1899
MASSES for $500 pocketing the remainder
for the comforting of his own soul. There
upon the local priests brought suit against
hin-not for defrauding tho dead but for
cheating the church out of its legitimate
business.
Even the Holy Host procession, which
possessed such weird fascination for us in
Peru and BOLIVIA. is here losing in power.
Formerly in all parts of Chilli it was con-
veyed to the dying with bells and lights
and burning incense and great pOmp of
military: but in recent years so many
difficulties have arisen between the natives
ana hereto forcignerS,-the latter some
times refusing to lIneel in the street when
the sacred procession paSSeG-that the au-
thoritieS have forbidden those outward
demonstrations in the principal cities,
though they still continue in interior vii
lagos. In Santiago and Valparaiso the holy
Viatico, or host. is now conveyed to the bed
of death by d priest under Il red umbrella.
preceded by three boys with 4 bell and
lighted candles. In Conception one may
sometimes meet ii in a numbering coach.
drawn by doukeys, with Il driver dressed in
red. seated in front. and a black-robed
priest inside. The latter
CARRIES THE CoNsECRATED WAFER
in small box; while boy. also dressed in
red, walks before, ringing bell to call the
attention of paSSerS- by. 1t is Il strange
sight. Even politicians OF the Liberal
type, who are most bitter III their denuncia-
tons OF the church. invariably stop and I'M
cover their heads and many of them spread
l handkerchief on the dusty sidewalk and
kneel upon it; while the lower classes fall
upon their knees al once. When cross
road is reached, all the people for the dis
lance of u block must uncover their heads
or bow TO the earth, and good Catholics
which the sacred wafer with its mySter-
ious significance is passing. So sacredly IS
the custom OF hneeling observed among the
natives that even the participants in a
waltz or cuaca will pause when the sound of
the bell Is heard and bend the knee until
the viatico has gone BY.
In Chill, as in other Catholic countries.
November | IS AL Saints Day, when sur
viving friends decorate the graves of the
dead and nave prayers said for the repoSe
OF their souls. On that day, in any Gillian
city. the road leading to the pantheon IS
thronged with people attired in deepest
mourning. on their way 10 the performance
OF these rites. The burial place has pre-
I-auSiI- NUT in no