The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-04-30
HOLY WEEK IN SPAIN.
GER EMONIaLS MORE MAGNIFI-
 CENT THAN THOSE OF ROME,

Yet Quaint as tho Miracles Play of the
 Cord ova, the Gray old Capital of the
 cnliphs, Which Once Had n Million Population, and Now Fewer Tha n
 Forty Thousand.
 | Special Correspondence of the-Journal and Courier.
 Cordova, Spain March 10.-When this
 letter reaches New Haven we shall be In
 the very thick of Holy Week, which is
 celebrated nowhere on the globe as in | Spain, with ceremonies indeScribably
 stately and magnificent, yet fantastic
 as the Passion Plays of Ober-Ammer-
 gau Year by year, as the country
 growo poorer, these ceremonials in-
 crease in splendor, while retaining all
 the quaintness of the miracle plays of
 the middle ages, attracting thousands of
 visitors from all parts of Europe. Par ticuuarly In Seville is Rome itself out done in the pomp and magnificence of
 the great annual celebration; and as
 that gayest as well as most religious
 city of Spain is only three hours rail-
 way ride from Cordova, we shall doubt
 less join the crowd of pilgrims to wit
 ness the show.
 In every town and city of Spain great
 preparations are made in advance for Holy Week, and all the people of the
 rural districts flock to the nearest cen- ters of population, whole families to-
 gether camping in the streets and mak,. ing a picnic of it. if they have not friends to visit, or money to patronize the inns. All the streets are swept and
 garnished, houses newly whitewashed
 and draped in black. and every smallest
 detail of the awful tragedy of twenty centuries ago is set forth so realistically
 as to make deep impression on the
 most irrevcrent beholder In many
 places the full Passion Play is enacted
 out of doors, day after day, by the peo-
 pie, including the pursuit and capture of
 Jesus by men mounted on donlSeys, i'm
 personating Roman soldiers. His inn
 prisonment, trial, condemnation and
 crucifxion; and afterwards the hang
 ing or burning of Judas, the principal
 characters represented by willing citi-
 zens, eked out by effigies in the death scenes. The church, however, takes lit-
 tie active part in these out-of-d door peJ-
 formances until the great climax of
 Corpus Christi, with it's solemn "pasos," intended to typify the mournful throng that once passed the Via Dolorosa n It's way to Calvary. Every church in Spain has it's Cofradia. or religious brother hood, appointed as body-guards to the patron saint, whose life-size wooden statue stands above the high altar. It is also the duty of the Cofeadia to su- perintend the pasos, and to see that no
 mitch" occurs In the performance. Every church has it's collection of in- ages, besides the Saviors, virgins anl saints in their respective nitohes, which are kept slowed away for these occa- sions. Some of them are of great anti quity and profoundly venerated for the miraculous cures they are believed to have wrought and all are brought forth, decked in their richest robes, for Corpus Christi. Beforehand, workmen have put up awnings over the streets and squares along which the processions will pass. chairs for spectators are set thickly all along the way, and every overlooking window and balcony is decorated with garlands of flowers and filled with ladies. Many of the balco- nies are gaily draped with crimson vel vet, or spangled tulle, like opera -hoxes and everybody is provided with flowers to cast before the sacred images. AS there are upwards of a hundred church. es in Seville, and each has its especial peso, all meeting at last in the cathe- dral, DrocessionS are constant from dawn till far into the night. The ad- vance-guard of each peso Is always "the Nazarines, as they are called-the Co- fradia of the church, wearing dominoes. terminating in high-pointed cap and rope girdles. Their robes arc scarlet, purple, black and white, with long trains, crimped and beruffled. which | they manage with the gracefulness one might expect. and each carries light ed candle nearly yard long. Next | come companies of Roman soldiers, | horse and foot, whose shining armor (al- 1 though made of discarded kerosene l eane), and waving plumes add much to | the brlliancy of the pageant. Then | come the images, upon a black-palled | platform, borne upon the shoulders of | men and surrounded by priests and ec- orders. The ornaments of | the images are of the richest and most | expensive description--crowns of solid gold, rings upon every wooden finger, | necklaces and bracelets of diamonds and rubies, jewelled brooches wherever ] pin can be stuck; the shoulders of aach covered with velvet cloak gilt tering with gems and stiff with gold em- worth itself a princely for tune. In the midst of this bejewelled company of saints stands the forlorn figure of our Savior, falling under the weight of the cross, it's suffering face. streaked with blood. doubly painful by contrast with the gaudy trappings of he others. Immediately in front of the platform walk bevy of little girls, SUD- oosed to be costumed as angels, in very 'hort dresses of spangled tulle, scatter ng flowers In the roadway. A band or wo of music accompanies each process ion and the rear Is brought up by a mighty following of the populace. All dong the line of march soldiers are osted in double rows, to preserve order; md the stirring music of military 'ands, the blaze of innumerable can- Hes, the gorgeous paraphernalia and