The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-08-23

in all South America a man of powerful
physlque and in apparent health, dropped
| dead from the shock of the news. Pending
the presidents signature, he was waited
upon by delegation composed of hundreds
OF the wealtniest ladies Of the country, who
Desought him to veto the obnoxious bill
Ihey were the wives and daughters of the
Chlllan arlstccracy-the same class of
ladies, still swayed in all things by the
cnurch, who are to-day espousing the cause
of the revolutionists, which in reality rs q
question OF the Liberal party against So
called conservatism, of
THE ARIsTocRACY AGAINST THE COMMON
PEOPLE,
free schools and enlightened progress
against clrcumscribed education and a re-
turn to the priestly rule of half century
| ago: A few years ago a wealthy CHILEAN
died, leaving s, 900 in the hands OF an execu-
tor to be expended in masses for the repose
OF MS soul. The native priests would not
consent to perform N ore than 500 masses
Tor that amount of money: and so the
thrifty executor wrote to Spain, and after
! considerable haggiing procured a thousand
masses for 5000, pocketing the remainder for
the comforting of his own soul. Thereupon
the local priests brought suit against him
not Tor deirauding the dead, but for cheat
Ing the church out of its legitimate bust
ness.
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 Chile 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 diff
cultles have arisen between the natives and
hereto FREDERICKSBURG latter sometimes
refusing TO kneel in the street when the
sacred procession passed-that the author
! tues nave forbidden those outward demon
strations in the principal cities, though
they still continue in the interior villages.
In Santiago and Valparaiso the holy Wat
leo, or host, is now conveyed to the bed of
death by a priest under a red UNI
orella, preceded by three boys with
a bell and lighted candles. In Con-
ceptlon one may sometimes meet it
In numbering coach, drawn bv
donkeys, with a driver, dressed in red.
seated in front and black robed priest in
side. The latter carries the consecrated
wafer in small box. while a boy, also
dressed In red, walks before ringing a
! bell to
CALL THE ATTENTION OF PASsERs-BY
1t is strange sight. Even politicials of
the Liberal" type, who are most bitter in
their denunclations of the church, inyari
ably stop and uncover their heads, and
on the dusty sidewalk and kneel upon il,
Wnlle the lower classes fall upon their
knees at once. When a crossroad is
reached all the people for the distance of a
block must uncover their heads or bow to
the earth, and good Catholics murmur
prayers Tor the departing soul to which the
sacred wafer with its mysterious signih-
canoe is passing. So sacredly is the Gus
| lom OF kneellng 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 Chile, as in other Catholic countries
November lst is All Saints Day. when
surviving friends decorate the graves of
tne DEAD and nave prayers said for the re-
pose OF their souls. On that day, in any
Chilean city, the road leading to the pan
theon is thronged with people attired in
deepest mourning, on their way to the
performance of their rites The burial
place has recently been put in order for the
occasion; its pits flied up and scattered
bones and bits of coffins cleared away.
Alsles OF beggars stretch along the road to
the gate OF the pantheon, where vendors of
fruits, cakes, ices, chicha and milk punch
hoarseiy offer the wares for sale: while
ylgllantes, running about to preserve or
der, contribute to scene of confusion
more appropriate to the entrance of county
lair ground or circus tent than to a silent
city of the dead. The cemetery chapel
whose interior has been heavily shrouded
IN black and hung with dimly burn
ing lamps, Is filled from dawn
till dark with kneeling figures; and beside
It's outer door table is generally placed
on which stands q figure of Christ. sur
rounded by candles and backed by pile of
battered skulls and cross bones which have
done duty on many similar occasions. In
side. all the tombs are covered with fresh
flowers, mostly arranged in wreaths. tes
toons and vases. There are few beauti
ful gariandS OF immortelles, but some
hideous, though doubtless expensive
wreaths, of black aud white beads com
blued with black paper roses, appear to be
the more fashionable decoration. Groups
of people, chatting gaily, are seated upon
the graves, while at various points through
out the grounds, stand priests of different
orders, repeating prayers for the dead.
There are reverend fathers in Dong robes
OF black broadcloth, and others in flowing
gowns OF white merino, mostly portly and
bow-windowed of physique, whose especial
business OF the day Is to say prayers for
any desired soul at the rate of I'm real IA
shilling) per prayer: and others whose pc
tltions come still higher-but whether thew
go any higher, who can say! There are
also seedy-looking friars in coarse grey
habits, who will pray themselves hoarse at
penny prayer in behalf of both the
quick and the dead; and these are ALWAYS
surrounded by numbers of the Door. who
may be seen eagerly untying the coin that
they have probably saved at the sact ifice
of a days food, from the corner OF dirty
nandkerchle1. FANNY B. WARD.