The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-03
AN OLD RELIGIOUS PAGEANT Where Fashionable Folks Do Penance for Their
 Sins. IA SOLEMN CEREMONY The Penitential Procession Through the Streets
 of Furnes.
ILEMN CEREMONY

Where the light is sharpest the shad- ow is deepest; and it is close to Ostend the right the naughty, the fascina- ble and the gay-that most solemn religious ceremony is annually observed and that at the moment when this queen of watering places with all her attractions is at her fullest.
 The scene is Furnes, a small town not far from Dunklrk. on the French from tier, within easy reach of Ostend, and the time is the last Sunday in July, the I date-originally in May-having been changed, perhaps, in order to, convent ence summer visitors.
 The religious ceremony, which brings hundreds of people into the little town in pilgrims garb, consists of a penten- tial procession through the streets, the story of Christ's life and passion being set forth by living characters as des- | cribed in the New Testament, with cer- | tain introductory elements rom the Old.
 What makes the procession especially striking is the part played by the peni- tents, who publicly play many of the l characters or perform other acts Of contritlon, and who for hours tramp through the i'll paved streets under a broiling summer sun or stumble bare foot through water and mud in wet weather. Thus the part of Christ at the moment of His crucifx,on has for many | years been taken by a burgomaster of an important neighboring town, and, like his great Prototype, he drags an | enormous cross. Behind him comes a crowd of men and women, who also carry great solid crosses, which are borne in different positions according to VOW. They are completely dis guised, these men and women, being covered with black garments from head to foot, so that except for height it Is impossible to tell man from wo> man.
 More leaders of fashion of both sexes than any one realizes slip away quietly from Ostend and elsewhere when the ] Furnes procession comes on, and com pletely disguised, take their places among the penitents, having previously obtained a certificate of repentance from their religious adviser, and the se- cret of identity Is closely kept. Only the finer turn of woman's shapely an- kle, the extra care bestowed on the mans feet, the glimpse of fine lace un- der the coarse black skirt, the cultivat- ed tone in a voice of prayer, give any indication as to the position of those who pass along in the procession. All arc completely covered, with merely holes for the features; all wear black gloves, 80 that the hands may afford no clew, and ostentatiously catry white handkerehiefs, large and coarse (pre- sumably for penitential tears), and all are barefoot.
 This curious penitential procession seems to have originated in HOO, when Count Robert of Flanders came from Palestine, bringing home a piece of the true cross. He founded a local branch of the Society of the Cross which adopted this method--then much
 in vogue, like mystery plays-of teach, ing the ignorant the Bible story by ex. application.
 | ! lAC SlNeRb f uAAACS PlOIGS6AOu bNAFIS dl 5S0 o'clock from a small street behind the church, so as to allow of pilgrims coming from some distance. Playing the penitent in the Furnes procession
 Is, it must be explained, no light and easy task. It means downright hard work, for, muffled as the pilgrims are ! it involves displacing horses and dragging great carts and lorries, ol bearing on the shoulders awkward
 heavy platforms, on which are placed the wooden figures that represent the stations of the cross with which the procession of living characters is di. versifled, It means staggering along , with topheavy banners without see. ing where you are going, the hard stones bruising delicate feet; il
 means carrying metal explana ory notices in aching arms for hours al :, g. time, and all the while recitine penitential psalms. No; playing the , repentant sinner at Furnes is far toe r arduous for any one to undertake
 who is not in earnest.
 , Hundreds of barefoot penitents ap.
 pear, dragging as best they can
 some in one position, some in anoth. :, CT, according to their vows-enorm. ous heavy crosses. Slipping ant i. stumbling under the weight, ant gasping with fatigue as they slowly :. pass along. every now and then som, . more delicate or feeble penitent drop. from the ranks, to be restored by
 those near. A few moments res and they go forward again to fnisl their penance. Round and round tht
 town goes the procession till scarce
 a street has not been visited, then sc X back to the Grande Place, wher, . the cortege disappears round the cor
 ner whence 1t emerged, looking as 1 = the Middle Ages had swallowed 1t ul
 till next year. The penitents sliI
 away unostentatiously and return SC = cretly to their homes.--The Sphere.