The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1896-06-11
EUROPEAN LETTER.
Some of the Curious Religious and Other
Festivals in Rome.
Especial Correspondence. ]

ROME, Italy, May Religion is
very conspicuous here, in spite of the
vanished temporal power. On almost
every street corner there is a little
shrine, a picture or statue of the Ma
donna, adorned with artificial flowers
and covered with glass. Women stop
to murmur prayers before them, with a
heedlessness of the passers-by that in
dicates either very mechanical or very
sincere devotion. And in the churches
the same thing is noticeable. Fancy a
tourist walking around during religious
service in a church in America, strik-
ing the pillars to see if they are marble
or only stucco, and turning opera
glasses on the stained glass windows,
on the frescoes and on the priest him
self. The scene that may be hourly
observed in St. Peters, of worshippers
kneeling before the statue of the patron
saint and reverentialIy kissing his toe,
while visitors watch them through
lorgnettes, speaks eloquently of the
good natured passivity of the Italians
and the needless curiosity of sight
seers.
Almost every week during the winter
in Rome there is church festival, and
some of them are as interesting and
unique in their way as the Oberam-
magau performance. At St. Agnes
outside the walls on the third Sunday
in January occurs the blessing of the
lambs, from whose wool certain sacer-
dotal robes are made. All day long
there is a pilgrimage from the city to
the church, and the road beyond the
Porta Pia is full of carriages and cabs
and pedestrians. Two lambs, sham
pooed into an unprecedented condition
of cleanliness, with their fleece curled
in the latest style, are carried into the
church. They are bedecked with rib
bons until they look like toys. For
fear they might fail to appreciate the
honor that is being paid them, and
make unseemly efforts to escape, they
are securely tied on cushions. They
are borne in state to the altar, sprink-
led with holy water and enveloped in
incense. Mass is said, interrupted by
their beats Of helpless remonstrance.
Then the people crowd around and try
to touch them, and the puzzled lambs
again say that they want to go home.
But they must first be taken to the
Vatican to receive the Papal blessing,
and then the fleece is solemnly sheared
and the lambs are allowed to return to
comfort and dirt.
Another curious festival is the dis
tribution of doWeries in the church of
St. Agostino. Some generous persons
who evidently believed that marriage
was a success, established doWry fund
to encourage maidens to enter the holy
bonds. Courageous and cheerful can
didates are not lacking-indeed there
are usually so many that the committee
has difficulty in choosing. The only
conditions are that the applicant be
poor and Roman. About fifty maid
ems this year publicly proclaimed their
willingness to offer themselves on the
altar Of matrimony, and their philan-
thropy was rewarded by gift of $50
lire ($3O) apiece. Very pretty and I'M
mercenarv did they look. in their white
dresses and wells. Those costumes
will probably soon be used again at
the consummation of the sacrifice; for
sultors wait on the footsteps Of the
dowried maidens. Indeed, in more
than one case the marriage is arranged
beforehand with the condition that the
dot be received.
Rome has not a monopoly Of festivals.
We saw one few months ago OF Lake
Como, III honor of the Infant st. John.
A procession of small boys with gar
ments. of sheepskin probably the
nearest they could get to the tradition
al camers hairy were leading lambs,
the latter Of course, representing
Christ. Very pretty would it be in
theory; but the day was warm and the
road dusty. The little St. Johns grew
tired and wept noisily, and the lambs,
with no sense of the proprieties, occa
sionally stopped short and refused to
bulge. 1t kept priest busy running
along the line, stirring up the obstinate
ones with a stick, or catching fugitives.
/ asked one of the peasants accompany
ing the procession what were the con-
tents of n silver box, that was carried
in much pomp at the head. " That, "
he answered reyerently, is one of the
fingers of the Infant ST. john"
We were walking in this same
neighborhood one day when we found
small chapel hidden among the
hills. We entered with somewhat
languid curiosity, but our interest was
awakened when we saw over the altar
instead of the traditional Madonna, a
very good picture of Diana and Action.
We inquired of the priest the apparent
error, but he silenced us by saying
" But yes. 1t occurred near here, not
far from Lake Lugano. You can see
+1,a ,o1ooo ubaro cho ohaonnd him into