The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-06-17
MISCELLANY.
European Letter,
ROME, Italy, May 81, 1896.

NOhb1 ltdt1J Ahay ~, lOoO'
Religion is very conspicuous here,
in spite of the vanished temporal
power. On almost every street corner
there is little shrine, a picture or
statue Of the Madonna, adorned with
artificial flowers and covered with
glass. Women stop to murmur pray
ers b fore them with heedlessness of
the passers-by thai indicates either very
mechanical or very sincere devotion.
And in the churches the same thing is
noticeable. Fancy tourist walking
around during religious service in
church in America, striking the pillars
to see if they are marble or only stucco,
and turning opera-glasses on the
stained glass windows, on the fresc)es
and on the priest himself The scene
that may be hourly observed in st.
Peters of worshipers kneeling before
the statue of the Patron Saint and rev.
erentially kissing his toe, while visitors
watch them through lorgnettes, speaks
eloquently of the good natured passiv-
ity of the Italians and the Needless
curiosity of sight-seeers.
Almost every week during the win
ter in Rome there is a church festival,
and some of them are as interesting
and unique in their way as the ODER
amagsu performance. At St. Agnes
outside-the walls, on the third Sunday
in January, occurs the blessing of the
lambs from whose wool certain
sacerdota robes are made. All day
long there is a pilgrimage from the
city to the church, and the road beyond
the Porta PA is full of carriages and
cabs and pedestrians. Two lambs,
shampooed into an unprecedented con-
dition of cleanliness, with their fleece
curled in the latest style, are carried
into the church. They are bedecked
with ribbons 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, sprinkled
with holy water and enveloped in in
cense Mass is said, interrup pied by
their bleats of helpless remonstrauce.
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 soemnly sheared
and the lambs are allowed to return to
comfort and dirt.
Another curious festival is the Dis
tribution of Dowries, in the Church of
St. Agostino. Some generous persons,
who evidently believed that marriage
was success, taolished dowry fund
to encourage maidens to enter the holy
bonds. Courageous and cheerful can
didates are not lacking-indeed, there
,1cttaIIu hot tha To-
has difficulty in choosing. The only
conditions are that the applican. be
poor and Roman. About fifty maid
ems this year publicly proclaimed their
willingness to offer themselves on the
altar of matrimony, and their phian-
throphy was rewarded by a gift of $50
lire $500 apiece. Very pretty and I'M
mercenary did they look in their white
dresses and wells. Those costumes
will probably be soon used again at the
consummation of the sacrifice; for
suitors 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 monopoly of festi-
walls. We saw one few months ago
on Lake Como, in honor of the Infant
st. John. A procession of small boys
with garments of sheepskin (probably
the nearest they could get to the ira
ditional camel's haiD 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 S Johns grew
tired and wrpt noisiy, and the lambs,
with no sense of the proprieties, Occa-
sionally stopped short and refused to
bulge. 1t kept a priest busy running
along the line, stirring up the obstinate
ones with stick and catching fugi-
tives. l asked one of the peasants ac-
companylng the procession what were
the contents of silver box, that was
carried in much pomp at the head,
That" he answered reverentially
"is one of the fingers of the Infant ST.
John"
We were walking in this same neigh
borhood one day when we found small
chapel, hidden auong the hills. We
entered with somewhat laDguid curl
osity, but our interest was awakened
when we saw over the altar, instead o
the traditional Madonna, a very goot
picture of Diana and Action. We in
quired of the priest about the apparen
error, but he sienced US by saying
But yes. 1t occurred near here, no
far from Lake Lugano. You can SCI
the place where she changed him int
a stag" ="
CURES, absolute, permanent cure