The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-07-08
A vlCARlOUS PENANCE.
Twenty Generations Have Borne Cross
In Sevilie's Holy Week Procession.

In the July Century Stephen Bonsal,
late of tie Ar;larican legation at Madrid,
describes Holy Week In Seville" In de-
scribing the procession of silence Mr.. Bon
sal says:
But there Is one muffled figure that
bears the heaviest cross and walks pain
fully with unshod and shackled feet over
the uneven stones, who, owing TO the
strange and peculiar penance he performs,
cannot hope to enjoy the anonymity of his
brother penitents. The self imposed pen
ance of the fathers i'm Seville would seem,
even as the weight of their SINS TO be Wis
tied upon their children unto the last gen.
Grafton of their seed. At least IL is true
that the staggering youth before us Is the
twentieth of his name and line who has
done vicarious penance for the sins of his
forefather, celebrity of the sixteenth CEN
fury who looked "on beauty charming"
with the eyes of Don Juan Tenodio. He
was finally captured, the legend relates,
by Barbary corsair and carried prison
err to Oran, where, manacled and chained,
he spent manga long and weary day wish
ing that he were dead. But while he pinned
hopelessly in prison he made solemn vow
that, should he ever regain his liberty he
would walk barefooted and humbly bear
ing his cross behind the Christ of the great
power in every madrugada, or morning
procession, and further, he vowed that he
would make the annual accomplishment
of this VOW a charge upon his estate for all
time by providing that, should any one of
his male descendants fail in its perform
ance, his portion of the estate should go
to enrich the foundation of convent
There have been no defaulters among
the old gallant's heirs, and, though the
present bearer of the proud name is per-
fumed and scented polio, dude of Seville
society, he, too, did not shrink from the
sacrifice necessary to keeping the money
I'm the family, and l regret to say that as
he came meekly along in this strange
guise his appearance excited much amuse-
ment among the other pollos, whose in
heritance had come TO them without so
unpleasant condition, and at the sight
of his bruised and bleeding feet much
money was wagered on the question of
whether he would be able to lead the CO.
tillon at the Duke of Alba's on Easter
Monday.
But perhaps the strangest of all the ar
ray of silent maskers who followed the
Christ of the great power was little girl
of some ~ summers, clothed in her com
munion robes, weird and ghostly apparel
for this the dark hour before the dawn.
Her eyes were blindfolded, and unlike the
hoods of the Nazarenes there was not left
the smallest aperture through which she
might look to choose and pick her way.
She carried golden chalice in one hand,
while with the other she CROPPED and felt
her way. Every now and then, misled
by the deceiving echo Of the music, she
would turn out of the way, now to the
right and now to the left. Once she stunt
bled and fell, and when she rose in her
confusion started to walk back the way
she had come, but the Nazarenes caught
her by the hand and directed her on her
way again. The little girl in the white
dress symbolized that faith
" h;ch is blind