The Washington times., 1901-09-29

cred them all. and, placing them in his
tilma took them to the Bishop. When
he had told his story to the prelate, he
opened his tilma to show the flowers.
The roses fell to the floor and then II
was seen that on the tilma was pic
ture of the Virgin as she had appeared
to the Indian. The Bishop fell on his
knees, and after some time in prayer,
took the tilma and placed it over his
private altar.
The Bishop-Zumarraga was his name
at once set to work and built the
chapel, now (he cathedral, at the loot
of the hill. When it was completed the
wonderful tilma was hung above the al
tar. There it has remained ever since,
only being removed when some OF the
extensive alterations We're being made TO
the place On the summit of the hill
where juan had gathered the mifacu-
lous roses was built another chapel
and still a third was erected over the
well or spring which came from the
rocks and marked the place where the
Virgin had appeared to the Indian for
the fourth time.
plicitly believed in by the people, the
attention of the Pope was called to the
miracle. In 1868 it was recognized, and
in 1754, it was fully sanctioned and con-
firmed by Papal bull. Before that, in
1876, after the image of the Virgin and
the picture on the tilma were believed
to have done away with the pestilence
which was raging, the Virgin of Quad
alupe had been solemnly elected by the
Church and people as their patroness.
Hidalso, too. took picture OF TINS VIZ
gin for his banner when he began the
war for independence, and she accord
ingly became the protectress of the rev.
olution.
In 1922 Iturbide, then Emperor. Gre
ated an Order of the Virgin of Guada-
lupe as his highest decoration, and al
terward Felix Fernandez. the first Pres
ident, changed his name TO Guadalupe
Victoria Later, in 1924, Congress de-
creed the 18th of December TO be ma
tienal holiday.
The church of Guadalupe is now one
of the handsomest in the world, so ex-
perts declare, so much money has there
been spent upon it. But 1t is in the TIL
ma itself that the interest centres. And
this cid Indian garment is certainly
marvel 1t is the same kind of half
poncho, half blanket, that is worn by
the Indians today. 1t is of the rough
est material, coarsely woven, with ir-
regular meshes. On this the picture
appears, showing exactly alike on each
side of the cloth. Artists and scientihc
men of high standing have examined it
and have testified under oath that 1t Is
of no known style of art and that there
is no other picture in the world when
has the same characteristics. On differ
ent parts of the canvas are to be found
four different kinds of painting. while
the gliding seems to be rather woven
into the garment than painted upon it.
But. perhaps. most marvellous of all
is the remarkable preservation of the
tilma and the picture upon it. No at
tempt has ever been made to clean 1t,
and yet il is as fresh as though IL was
new and not almost 400 years old. And
during those four centuries it has been
exposed without any covering TO the
smoke of censers and candles and to
the damp air of the church, which, fill
ed with saltpetre, corrodes the most
solid substances and has rotted away
heavy altar hangings of the finest silk.
These have to be replaced every few
years, but the strange tilma remains
fresh and strong in the midst of all.
To describe the beauty of the church
which has been erected as a home for
this marvel would be practically an i'm
possible task. The statues and the
paintings have been executed by the
finest artists who could be found in Eu-
rope. Artists were brought from France
10 paint the frescoes' on the walls, and
hundreds of thousands of dollars have
been spent on the smaller details alone.
An idea of the money which has been
expended and of the richness of the
decorations may be obtained from the
crown which hangs in front of the tilma
and just above the head of the painted
Virgin. This was manufactured in
Paris. The rim at the base represents
the twenty-five Bishoprics of Mexico,
each one being designated by a shield
Of solid gold. Above comes circle OF
Of angels issuing from roses. Between
the angels, and supported by them, are
six shields for the six Archbishoprics of
Mexico.
At the top is an enameled globe, on
which Mexico is symbolically shown.
Above this is the Mexican eagle, grasp
ing the globe with one talon, while with
the other he holds aloft diamond
cross. At the top OF the cross is a ring
by which a golden cherub holds the
crown above the picture. The entire
crown is of solid gold and weighs many
pounds. All the shields are surrounded
with diamonds, and in the breast of
each angel is huge ruby. Almost the
entire remainder Of the surface Is COW
cred with sapphires and emeralds.
But to all this wealth in the church
the poor pilgrim poems paid little at
tention. A realization of it was beyond
their simple minds. What they came to
see and what they bowed and prayed
before was the picture of the Virgin on
the tilma. Once they had performed
that duty they were happy, even though
they should have to beg their way
home.
A BUTTON BLUNDER.