Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-07-13

posed to show the accomplishments gained
at the convent; also a frequent visitor
here was Senior Rodriguez, who seemed a
great friend of the family.
Harry never had an opportunity to
speak to Florita alone, but with the opti-
mism of youth he believed that she accept
ed his affection and he could afford to
wait. In confident happiness he wrote to
his mother all about it, receiving in reply
a torrent of abuse, coupled with the COM
mand to return home at once. your
a2ete.n TIP .arst - . t-i--,- .ou4 JE-'li.
You send us pages about a Mexican girl
who, suppose, goes barefooted and wears
a ring in her nose" wrote the indignant
lady, who was apt to become confused in
her ideas by excitement. OF course
Harry did not go back. He had been
plentifully supplied with money, and he
determined to remain as long as that held
out, at any rate.
To add to his trouble, the old senior, APP
parently suspecting his Intentions began
to treat him with cold politeness, while
Rodriguez plainly indicated by his looks his
desire to knife the white man to the heart
on some dark night, So our young Amer
lean traveller had on hand all the love and
misery possible to one youthful heart
He was only hardened the more in his de-
termination by this opposition from all
sources and drew from it some evidence
that Florita loved him in return. In this
he was mistaken, for after the novelty of
their first acquaintance had worn off she no
longer thought of him as lover and was
making other preparations for her future.
This did not prevent her remaining polite
and kind to her youthful adorer, while
her father and the unsuspecting Rod
riguez saw in the Americans continued
unexplained presence in their town only
an impertinent curiosity which they re
sented.
In the week after Harry's arrival he no.
ticed watchfres burning near Mexican
homes at nights, for the great yearly event
was at hand which celebrated the religion
of the Penitentes that old superstitious be-
lief and practice which the priests are con-
tinually endeavoring to stamp out. All
the members of this order wear pale blue
cross tattooed on the forehead, and Harry
had noticed this emblem on the face of
Florita's father. On far hillside there
was a deserted adobe house, where the
Penitentes underwent their self imposed
torture. On the night of the ceremony
Harry determined to see this performance,
which is supposed to be private and secret
He had discovered large crack in the
adobe wall through which he could look
into the interior, and in the dark he sta
toned himself there on the evening Of the
event. 1t gave him some, comfort to re-
member that Florita must have, because
Of her convent training, no sympathy with
these old superstitions of her race.
A great fire Of pinon burned in one cor
ner of the room and lighted it up, showing
the half naked figures of the members of
the order kneeling in silent prayer At
last they arose, and Selling punches Of the
cactus piled near began to beat their arms
and breasts with the thorny branches.
Blood flowed from the wounds as the
needlelike points pierced their flesh. Some
times one, in the fierce ardor of his reli-
gious zeal, would strike himself with such
force that he would fall fainting and bleed
ing and have to be carried out to be re-
stored to consciousness and receive med
ical treatment for his injuries. Occasional
ly from some poor wretch remaining
would escape q groan which even his Spar
tan spirit could not control AS the fire
was replenished the flames would leap up,
throwing a white light upon the awful
tableau in that room of penance, showing
the never to be forgotten sight of those
dark, fanatical faces, the barred arms and
breasts with blood streaming from self in
flicted wounds.
For awhile Harry looked upon the sick
ening vision with breathless and excited
fascination. He marveled at the fierce
zeal that could produce a scene shocking
as this. He still continued to gaze until
the room was in shadow, and his illusion
of love seemed to fade with the dying fire.
He could stand no longer the sight of so
much pain and torment as these men tri-
fled with death. Half fainting, as if he
had been scourged himself, and pale as q
ghost, he returned to town thinking:
"What an escape have hadl These
Mexicans are merely savages. 1 could
never endure Florita's father and hardly
the girl herself after the scene tonight"
In the early morning he took the train
homeward. He arrived at night, and the
glare of the electric light revealing famil-
lar things was to him the light of civiliza-
ton. Only this was real, and he had re-
turned to it unchanged. Yet a dream Of
girls dark eyes and lovely presence in a
picturesque little Mexican town upon the
Rio Grande rose like living picture be-
fore his eyes, but it was quickly blotted
out by another vision that seemed like
scene out of the dark ages-that blood
stained room of penance with the hideous
and useless sacrifice of superstition. Only
this could justify, he thought, his bru-
tai act in leaving behind, as he honestly
imagined he had, a maiden broken heart.
-Francita Trujello in Philadelphia
Times